More Melina

Just adding a few more pics of our new baby girl...

Halloween

Here's a quick review of our Halloween since I kind of skipped that. Since Ben's wedding was the week before it took a back seat to other things most of the month. But don't worry, somehow we got in the cookie making, pumpkin carving and of course trick or treating. We were lucky to have my Aunt Jane and my mom here to help with the carving and we finished in record time. The highlight was when the two broke out in song about the hypotenuse of a triangle. This year we had Minnie Mouse, Wolverine, and Iron Man and also the Mad Hatter who spent more on his costume than any of the others and a rabbit because I could pull it off being pregnant. Brad and I were invited to our first couples only Halloween party which was really fun. The kids had party after party the week of Halloween (3 total) and also their friend Jordyn aka Raphael came trick or treating with us.

Baby Melina

If you're hoping for a nice introspective mommy post I'm sorry to disappoint - no mommy insight here. Tara's still in the hospital so you get my world view here.

Today Tara was induced and this afternoon delivered our newest addition, Baby Melina. Don't ask about a middle name...just know that we're working on it. The baby specs are 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long. As you can see from the pics below, she has dark hair and eyes. This may sound a little "dad-like" but honestly, if you've seen one of our newborns you've seen them all; she looks just like the other three did. (The lone exception was Ian, who looked a little more Viernes than the rest - gets it from his Tutukane.)

Tara's doing well and she sailed through the delivery with flying colors. I knew she was doing well afterwards when she supplemented her hospital dinner with a honey-do: McD's cheeseburger, McFlurry and a movie from Redbox - you can always tell when everything's right in the world. She's welcome to phone calls - call me at our cell number and if I'm not already at the hospital I'll give you the number there.

Ben's Wedding

Ahhhh. That was a sigh of relief because soccer season is over and Ben's wedding is also over. I can now breathe and impatiently await the birth of my next child. The reception was pretty much a disaster with the bride and groom making their entrance around 8pm instead of 7pm. Most of the food was ready by 7:30, but we did have a few punctual people who either mulled around wondering where Ben and Mariela were or they were recruited to help in the kitchen. Here's a few pictures that captured the good moments.

Strike 3

Well, as some of you may know, Brad has in recent years had trouble with his esophagus. Strike one was in January '08 when I was accused of trying to off my husband with roast beef that became lodged in his esophagus. Strike two occurred in Oct '08 when Brad tore his esophagus while enjoying some ribs (that I did not cook) at BBQ house in downtown SLC. The last strike was Wednesday night spent in the ER again because of some chicken that got stuck in Brad's tiny esophagus. Luckily, the third time is a charm and we finally got a diagnosis for his problem. He has something called Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Basically, he has some allergy and will be sent to an allergist with the hopes of figuring out what it is. Also, I have been told that I never have to cook again because it may hurt my husband. I think I could deal with that, but somehow we have to eat...

More Stress

So, I sewed this in 5 days. Okay, it was a one hour easy sew pattern, but I am a little busy with other stuff too. I am quite proud of myself because I told the girl I couldn't do it at first and she told me no one else could do it for her (it's for her cousin's wedding luau/reception this Saturday). Unfortunately, I don't have much of a backbone says Brad and I couldn't say no even though I have a lot of other things on my plate right now (like 5 kids). I had to take a picture of it before she comes to pick it up because I am so amazed at my talent:)

Preschool

So, yesterday Ian started preschool. I'm glad I got him in because this was much needed in our lives (mine and Ian's). It's really not for very long, but luckily it still tires him out a little:) Here's some pics of the dropoff:


One bonus because I waited until this year to send Ian to preschool (we skipped it last year) was that while other kids were crying for their mommies, Ian was pushing me out the door. Did I mention he was ready?