A new Photo

Of the whole family! Still can't see Bailey's face too well, LeGrand is off in LeGrand land, and Caroline is - well, Caroline... but here we are! If any of you of the Pierce Clan want a copy, please leave a comment and let me know - I'll gladly send you one!

Photos taken by Alisha Kathleen Photography

Look who DROPPED in?!?

9 years ago, three of my sisters and I all had babies within months of each other. Patience, the sister 2 years younger than I had a baby girl, Chloe, in October; I had Savannah in November; Charity, my sister 4 years younger than I had Kirstina in December; and then Missy, my oldest sister had Gracelynn in May of the following year.

To honor Bailey - and to visit us, my sister Charity surprised us by walking in my door with her husband, Nick, and Kirstina. On Saturday, Missy came to visit. Both of them brought their 9 year old daughters. The only one missing from this quartet was Chloe. It was so refreshing to visit and to see how well these girls - so similar in age, and with such fabulous personalities - related to each other. And how Margaret fit in with them also.

It was fantastic to have Charity and Nick and Kirstina and Mom and Dad and Missy and Gracie come to visit (some, even at the same time!) I truly have missed the interaction with my siblings. Thank you for the surprise.

And a HUGE thank you to Kirstina for her rendition of the never ending camp story. She helped to create memories that will NEVER be forgotten. The campfire was awesome, and the visit gave us an excuse to build a long talked about and as before not acted upon fire pit. "Cause I'm Peanut Butter, and YOU are Jelly!"

We love all of our visitors - This has been the most fun summer since we moved here. Hands down.

Bailey's Weight

I think most girls would be mortified if their weight were posted on any sort of public forum. However, since Bailey is still only three months old, it doesn't hurt for me to tell the audience that she's finally topped 10 pounds! Besides, that's barely more than a sack of potatoes.

She is starting to get some rolls under her chin, and certainly no longer looks like she's starving to death. O.K. So she never looked like she was STARVING, but she was really small.

As an added bonus, she's developed this really great smile that she shares freely, and with almost anyone that smiles at her.

Her next appointment was supposed to be tomorrow, but the Dr. called to postpone it until the 13th of September. I'll give an accurate weight and height then. Until then, my scale says she weighs 10 lbs., and she's 23 inches long.

Prayer...

A Pastor was praying over one of the races in Nashville. (Sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke - but I actually heard this on Sports Center tonight...)

His prayer went something like this: "Dear Lord, Thank you for my SMOKIN' HOT WIFE and my two children  (who he mentioned by name). Bless this race... (and then there were some words to bless the race)... In Jesus Name; Boogedy, Boogedy, Boogedy, Amen."

I think I would laugh really hard if someone closed a prayer during church with three boogedys.

I'd offer someone money to actually do it, but I may have a brother or sister who really would... and with a straight face too. I'd love to be in church if someone actually used those words...

Closet Sleeping Update

Apparently, sleeping on the floor is hard. And by hard, I mean: THE FLOOR IS HARD. Savannah and Margaret both found that out sometime in the middle of the night when they BOTH woke up with sore bodies. And ended up downstairs in the living room on the same chair.

Margaret woke me up to ask me if she could sleep with me. I sleepily pointed her to the chair. The couch just wasn't big enough for Bailey, Margaret and Me. Savannah just came down and crawled onto the chair with Margaret. That's how Andrew and I found them this morning. Sleeping peacefully, sprawled on the chair. Together. And we chuckled over it.

So much for the fort. It was fun while it lasted.

Currently...

Savannah and Margaret are sleeping on the floor in their closet. They dismantled their beds (took all the sheets and blankets off...) and made a fort. In the closet. Yes, it's that big. Not only does the closet have two dressers, all their hangup stuff, their shoes, laundry basket and Friend Box, now it's also housing two not so tiny girls! And they're loving it.

LeGrand is sleeping with his mouth open and NOT under the covers.

Caroline is sleeping in a partial backbend on top of all her covers and one unfortunate baby doll... and we don't dare move her. At least she's not snoring with a fever and clogged nose tonight!

Bailey keeps pretending to be asleep enough for me to safely put her down without needing more food. But it's all pretend. As soon as I put her down, she wakes up and wants to eat some more. This time, she may really be asleep - she was drooling.

Andrew is safely tucked into bed so he can be ready for work tomorrow.

I'm hoping Bailey will sleep for a long time tonight, Caroline will sleep through the night (although I will admit that moving her crib to a different location in her bedroom has improved her sleeping...), and I will be able to get some good sleep.

Here's to hoping!

Another Doctor Check-Up

Caroline didn't disappoint when she had her weigh in. Those thighs tell A LOT about how much a person is going to weigh, and Caroline tipped the scales at 22.9 lbs. That's in the 38th percentile. She's only 31 inches tall, so that makes her more round than any of our other children at this age, but she's only in the 20th percentile, so I'm not worried. She'll hit a growth spurt one of these days, and hopefully it will be UP and not OUT! She's healthy, and I'm not complaining. Caroline is FINALLY getting the rest of her bottom teeth - I saw that they were coming through today!

Bailey, on the other hand, is going to be tall. Very tall. She's already 21.5 inches tall, which puts her in the 21st percentile for her age (7 weeks - TODAY!). She's petite at 7 lbs, 1.5 ounces. She's gained 1.5 pounds since bringing her home from the NICU - which doesn't seem like much, but she eats constantly and is growing... slowly. I can see the little fat rolls forming already! She is, however, not even on the charts yet for weight. We have another appointment in three weeks to see how much weight she's gained - and I'm hoping it's more than a couple of ounces! She's also healthy... and doing well. Here she is, engaging in one of her favorite activities. Her other favorite is eating.

I sure love these two little girls!

P.S. I didn't get to be queen at the dentist... I got made the court jester. Making half of your face numb for 8 hours will do that.

A Date...

Andrew and I are going on a date. To the dentist. It's likely not going to make it to the top 20 dates ever, but hey. It's a date. He gets a cleaning, I get a root canal. And a crown. Do you think they'll make me a queen?

Margaret & LeGrand

Margaret and LeGrand had successful visits at the doctor's office Wednesday. Margaret hears fantastically, LeGrand doesn't sit still for long periods of time without something to do, Bailey just wakes up to eat halfway through the appointment. Both of those who had appointments are healthy and right on target with where they need to be.Margaret is 41 inches tall, and weighs 38.8 lbs. She has informed me that she's going to be a doctor when she grows up - based on the fact that the doctor left her stethoscope on the floor when she finished the exam, and Margaret picked it up to listen to her heart. "It goes pat pat pat like it always does, Mom." Margaret is in the 8th percentile for height, and 30th percentile for weight. The doctor asked me if anyone had ever expressed concern over Margaret's height... when I told her how tall I was and how tall Andrew was (and how tall Grandma and Grandpa were) her comment was: "Oh. You're both short. Margaret will most likely be short based on genetics..." I politely smiled and told her thank you. In my head, I thought - "Yep. Figured that one out already. Thanks." So... unless there's some giant gene hiding in Margaret somewhere, don't anyone of you be surprised when she is just short as an adult.
LeGrand. LeGrand is 37.25 inches tall and weighs 29.4 pounds. He is in the 46th percentile for height, and the 25th percentile for weight. He is an energetic little boy who has recently started wearing big boy under-britches. (Yay! One out of diapers!) His favorite thing to do is whatever Dad is doing. And he loves his sisters. Soup is "disdusting", tractors are "annoying", he loves to watch for deer - when he sees one, he tell us that he has to "dit my dun! I need to shoot those deer!" He has yet to shoot a deer, but he is our #1 deer spotter! (The last one he saw was on Monday last, and since he kept telling us to "look at the MOOSE!" none of us looked. No moose in our yard. Nice big buck though! We love his energy and his zest for life.

You're not Mom!

I just think this is a funny picture. We had a rough night - Caroline was not sleeping well (hence the no pajamas - her leg kept coming out through the snaps and she couldn't sleep... so I wasn't sleeping.) Bailey was just snuggled up with Caroline in the morning - and then... the look. I love it.

Savannah... updated

Savannah had a visit to the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago for some allergy issues she was dealing with. While there, we found out her stats:

Savannah is pleased with the fact that she is 4 ft. 4 inches tall... "Only 6 1/2 inches shorter than Grandma Pierce!" She is slender and strong at 62.2 pounds. And, despite the allergy issues, she is healthy. Savannah was brave through 3 new booster shots - and is thrilled to not have to have more any time soon.

Savannah is a good helper with all of her sisters and her brother and still hasn't stopped asking questions. She will be starting 4/5 grade this fall and is a quick learner.

Funny Face... I love you.

Caroline has developed quite the little personality... here are just a few of her. (I love her little pig-tails too... she's not so sure about them, but they keep the food out of her hair! One of her favorite things to do is to twirl her hair, and she doesn't distinguish between clean fingers and peanut butter covered fingers...)

hair clips...

a funny thing happens when you bite a hair clip... it bites back.

caroline just bit a hair clip that she found on the floor... i think it may be from savannah's american girl doll... it clipped itself to the inside of her cheek. she started crying and came over to me - who is feeding bailey - opens her mouth and amidst tears says, "aaah..."

i didn't laugh this time when i unclipped it. i did laugh last time when savannah clipped her lip. she was old enough to know better, she "just didn't think it would hurt!"

A Good Website to Read

Just a small plug for a dear friend of mine... she has expanded her adventures on her family blog. for a fabulous read, check her website out by clicking HERE. More about how Jill and I came to be friends later... Just as a side note, her husband, Aaron, was in my ward at college. SUPER small world...

P.S. She has contests and giveaways, as well as highly entertaining stories about her family life and what it takes to be an excellent parent.

The Reason the Kittens Keep Moving...

A picture is worth a thousand words... I'll let these do the talking.

And one picture just because she's cute...

The Andrew and Linda Stahr Family

Mom with the children. I actually love that Caroline is so intent on seeing what Bailey is doing... she loves her little sister. I'm glad. Not sure what LeGrand is thinking though.

Andrew, Linda, Savannah (9), Margaret (5), LeGrand (2), Caroline (1), Bailey (3.5 weeks)

All of us. Taken today after church.

Planting Time!

the lower garden...

Andrew and LeGrand watering the upper garden

Savannah

Margaret

LeGrand planting his pumpkins

Savannah planting pumpkins

Margaret - trying not to get dirty while planting pumpkins...

It's taken us three weeks to plant our garden, but I am pleased to report that we're finally finished. This year we planted TWO gardens. An upper garden with corn, potatoes, peppers, carrots (if they come up...) beans, onions, pumpkins and peas. The lower garden has tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins and strawberries. Savannah helped Andrew put a fence in, the rest of the children helped to plant all the plants.

LeGrand was a good helper when it came to digging in the dirt... Savannah and Margaret did a fabulous job helping to get the actual plants in - the two of them planted onion and peas with Andrew and have been thrilled to see that their plants are coming up!

The three oldest children each planted their own hill of pumpkins yesterday; it's been wonderful hearing them pray that their plants will grow!!!

All in all, we're praying for a good harvest and just enough rain...

Name Update

The Great Name Debate (which really wasn't...) is now over.

In honor of generations of Grandmothers on my Mother's side, we have decided to give Bailey the middle name of ANE. Because this is the Danish spelling, the "E" is silent, and has no effect on the "A" sound, contrary to any and all phonetic fanatics out there.

So. Here's the official announcement.

Bailey Ane Stahr

18 May 2011

6lbs 7oz

19.75 inches long

Love and Adored by her siblings and parents

Off...

LeGrand has informed me that he's going to be outside shooting Big Bad Wolves. I hope he gets some. The world needs less Big Bad Wolves. Unless they're in Fairy Tales. Then they could be essential to the plot.

Meeting Bailey

Friday last, all the children came to the NICU to meet Bailey. It was a joy to see them - I hadn't realized how much I had missed them until I saw them all again... I definitely do NOT like having my family separated.

Caroline saw Bailey first - with Dad. Then Savannah and Margaret scrubbed up so that they could hold her, and finally LeGrand. I think he was most pleased to meet her - he's certainly been a proud brother.

I learned during my stay at the NICU with Bailey that the church really is a wonderful support - even when you don't physically talk to a person or see someone. I needed a toothbrush. Badly. After asking at the desk if they had one, I was provided with a plastic bag filled with lotion (in the container), a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, a small container of shaving cream and a razor, a washcloth - decent sized, not like the little ones at the hospital, and shampoo and conditioner. Several months ago, our Relief Society put together some kits with the same stuff. Based on the size of the lotion, this humanitarian kit didn't come from my ward, but somewhere, someone put it together and I was grateful for the reminder of the Sisterhood that the Relief Society provides. I was exceedingly grateful for the toothpaste. You can see by the photo that I was more interested in staying with Bailey than in showering. I took a shower first thing after getting Bailey to the Stahr's so we could pick up the rest of the children. It was a necessity. I couldn't even stand to be around me!

I'm just glad that Bailey is no longer attached to an IV, wires or anything else that keeps her from being close to me. And very glad that the stay at the NICU was short.