I'm gonna TRY

...to post more often! It's insane that it is 1:18 AM(!!) as I start this. I just saw that my friend and photography inspiration is doing the 365 project, which I've heard of. I tried to do a week in pictures last year. It was hard!!! But I'm trying to do more with my photography, so here it is. I'm goign to cheat though, since I didn't do a picture today. BUT I did one YESTERDAY (Jan 1), so I'll post that.


We went to my nephews basketball game last night, and here is Logan sitting on my sisters lap...

Logan

Logan stood on his own for about 15 seconds today. 10 minutes later he threw up all over me. A day to remember for sure!

Logan Turns One!

2 weeks ago my BABY (he's still a baby you know) turned ONE!

Lucky for us, he had no idea. So the lack of fan fare wasn't a big deal to him. Nope, no toy even (hey, he's got 3 older brothers, and we're unemployed).

He was just happy to have the cupcakes Haley and Kira made for him.



Logan has become quite the entertainer. He's quick to copy what you're doing. And makes some of the funniest faces!

He nods his head when he can tell you're asking a question. He pulls the outlet covers out of the outlets. He has finally mastered the stairs. He's known how to go down them for about a month or so, but would always sit at the top yelling as if asking someone to come and help turn him around. Just this past week, Haley came to the LR and saw Logan there. She freaked out because she had just seen him at the top of the stairs. She asked him, "Logan, did you just come down the stairs?" (Logan nods head). We laughed and then compared stories to realize that he did in fact turn himself around and get down the stairs all by himself!

He loves his brothers and sisters and is always happy when they are around. He is a good little napper and eats big people food all the time now! Bottle is gone! We did find out about a week before his birthday that he is allergic to peanuts (drat - another one!). I decided he could use a little protein and he was just a week from being one, so I made him a PB&J sandwich. 15 minutes later he was fussin in his high chair, I looked over and he was rubbing at his face and ears. He had hives going from his left ear down his neck. I got him out and cleaned up and he continued to scratch at his face and was a bit miserable. I gave him some Childrens Zyrtec, and waited for a few minutes, then decided to call the doctor. They advised that I bring him in immediately. So I loaded him up (he threw up at this point). At the pediatricians office, they checked his oxygen level (which was good), but his breathing was a bit raspy. They ended up giving him an epi shot and we waited for 30 minutes. At this point he was doing much better and the hives were nearly gone. WE'll have to get him tested soon to see how severe this allergy is. Seth's never manifested itself in such a dramatic way, so I'm wondering if his allergy is a bit more sever than Seths.

ANYWAY - long tangent there. Logan is so much fun. He's EASY going, a good sleeper, and a cuddler. He does pull him self to standing and cruise a little bit, but I don't see this guy walking for a few more months. He's a bit slower than Zack and Seth were. My first three didn't start walking until 15/16 months! Hurry up Mister Logan - because Little Miss Yo is coming in 4!

I Posted!

I got all my "Week in the Life" photos - scroll down to see... Here are a few others that I like that I didn't post... I'm sad to see that I never got any pix of my girls! Bad mommy!

Six Sweet Months

Logan is 6 months old today. And I just couldn't miss this.

Oh, the plans I had for blogging in November. I had a whole list of thankfuls rolling around in my head that I was going to share. And then our mini disaster-slash-blessing happened, and threw my life to even more chaos. I still haven't quite recovered.

I've put off blogging, until I get THIS and THAT finished. Then more THIS and THAT comes my way, and I just haven't gotten to it! Partly, I've been overwhelmed with all that I wanted to say. So I was waiting for the big chunk of time to do it. I still haven't found that big chunk of time.

So I'm going to throw a few pix up, and call it good. Something is better than nothing, something is better than nothing, I tell myself.

So my sweet little angel of a baby is SIX MONTHS OLD today! I can hardly believe it. Six months of this little slice of heaven in my arms. I've been blessed. I guess that is what happens when you have your sixth child. A sixth child must be an easy going happy go lucky type of child to live in the chaos that comes with a family of eight.

Happy half birthday sweet little Logan.

He is rolling from tummy to back. He can entertain himself for a long time. He loves to grab his feetsies. He is quick to smile at anyone, and kicks kicks and kicks when he is happy and excited. He loves to watch his big brothers and sisters play. We need to work on the sitting up thing and gaining some "core" strength. Maybe I should have him do some exercises on the ball. He has everyone wrapped around his finger. Especially Grandma and Grandpa.

Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa, they are leaving in a few weeks to serve a mission for my church! They've been called to the San Diego Mission, and have been asked to teach at the La Jolla (don't say, Jall-ah, its Hoy-ya... ha ha!) Institute and work with the young adults there. They will do a wonderful job, I know! But we'll miss them! Seth and Logan will miss them the most I think. They'll only be gone a year, heavens knows it will fly by!

OK, back to my other stuff. Last week I worked tirelessly to finish a free photo book (I had a HORRIBLE time with Snap Fish... Inkubook was giving away a free one as well). I ended up creating my pages in photoshop. Here are two of the pages I put together. One shows our November mess, and the other is a compilation of photos that I took of my kids in October at the park.



And last but not least, here is the long awaited picture of our new floor. It is beautiful and we love it! We still have to put baseboards back on, put a cabinet back in place, and ONE DAY I'll finish getting the beadboard and baseboards painted black. And I'm not even ready to think about my cabinets. Way too much work!

Well, what began as quiet alone time, ends with two sad children in my arms.

Off I go!

The Yoder Baby Guessing Game!

Many times, when asked which sibling Logan looks the most like, I say - "You've seen one, you've seen them all." My kids just seem to look the same at the newborn stage. I decided to round up some pictures to see how they really do compare - side by side. I tried to find ones of the kids from the hospital, and another one of them at 2 months old. See if you can guess who is who!

First off though, you have to see a couple of pictures
from the past of Roman and me...

Pretty silly. I'm 1 in the top left picture, and 2 1/2 in the bottom left. I'm not sure how old Roman is in these pictures. I'm guessing 5 or 6 in the top right, and about 1 or 1 1/2 in the bottom right.

OK, back to business. In your comment, make your guess of who is who. In my header, my children are pictured in order starting with the top left, working down, and then back up on the right, working downwards. The order is: Aaron, Haley, Megan, Zack, Seth and Logan. Try to guess before you open the comment and see other people's comments! I'm pretty sure you can click on the picture and it will open in a new window in a larger format.

Here are my babies:

Now, here are the pictures of my babies around 2 months of age.
They are in a different order than the newborn picture collage.
Give it your best guess! I'm sure this is much easier!

I will reveal the correct answers next week... have fun! (It sure was fun for me!)

Life With a Newborn... a Few Things I've Forgotten

... To check my shirt before I leave the house. No wonder the guy at Costco was looking at me funny while I was purchasing formula, diapers, and wipes (among other things). When I got home I saw I had a big splat of spit up on my shirt. Nice.

... The longest block of sleep I'll get is from 2.5 to 3 hours at a time. Roman has had to get back into work early again this week. That means he can't help me out with the early morning feeding (he wakes at 5:30 to leave at 6:15ish).

... Showers are a major luxury. Sometimes not getting them until after dinner, or not at all!

... Sleep takes precedence over ALL ELSE!

... Suddenly stretchy pants are your best friend

... Laundry is no longer just a weekly ordeal

... Going out IS a big ordeal

... The back aches will continue after delivery - although the ache has moved to the upper back

But the best thing that I had forgotten that I now remember...

... Newborn babies are THE BEST little cuddlers EVER!

BEDS...

There was a point last night that none of my children were occupying their beds. It made me think that we should just get rid of the beds, and bedrooms for that matter, and just stick them all in one big room on the floor. That way we could use the rest of the house for food storage, and a craft room, and an office...

Megan wanted to sleep on Logan's floor. Instead, I found her asleep in the rocking chair!

Here is a picture of Haley and Zack on the floor. They were caught in the act though - Haley was reading to him... this was 10:30 at night.
Here they are now... pretending to be asleep.
I think when I was up at 1:00 feeding Logan, I came back to bed to find Megan and Seth had both gotten in my bed. I was too pooped to put them back in their beds though. Luckily we have a king sized bed and I was able to find some room for my tired body.

Here is a picture of Logan from this morning. He was just sleeping so soundly, I had to take a picture!

WE SURVIVED THE FIRST TWO WEEKS!

We survived our first two weeks! He slept so much at the beginning, I had a hard time getting a shot of him with his eyes open. Now that he's awake more, we've had a few more opportunities, but then we've ran into crying issues... oh well! Once he got the day/night thing worked out, he started going longer between night time feedings. The longest was nearly 5 hours which was awesome. Roman or I usually take the late night feeding (anywhere from 10-midnight), I take the one in the middle of the night (because Roman sleeps thru it all and has a hard time getting up, and then getting back to sleep...), and then Roman takes the early morning feeding (anytime after 5a). This means I get to sleep in until 8 or 9. It's been working quite well! Until.... GROWTH SPURT! Yesterday Logan was awake more, fussy more, and wanted to eat more frequently. I thought for sure he'd have a good night since he was up so much more during the day. Roman and I watched a movie for our "at home" date night, and Logan ate at midnight... and then he stayed awake. It's all a blur now... but I was basically awake until about 4:45am with him. I think I got two 20 minute spans of sleep in that time frame. He either wanted to eat, or pooped as he was drifting off to sleep, or seemed to have a tummy ache, or wanted to be held, or woke when I put him down... Needless to say it was a long night. I didn't want to wake Roman though, because if he didn't get his solid block of sleep, then he'd be useless to me in the morning when the kids were up and at em. Luckily for me though, I had a great book I was reading, and I ended up finishing it during this time. It made it more bearable.

Here is the best part of it all though. Roman was going to take Aaron, Haley and Megan to the ward camp out. He didn't want to mess with Zack (who is having "I don't care if I pee/poop my pants" power struggles with us), or Seth (two year old - enough said). Well, the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to be left at home with my 3 most difficult children. So, I asked him to stay home, and he willingly complied. Thank goodness, or else I would have been one crazy mama at 7:00 this morning when Seth came in the room!

We've had so many loved ones do nice things for us these past two weeks. Friends and family have taken my children for play dates, which has given me many hours of peace and quiet. We've had meals brought in - my visiting teacher (she is AMAZING and should be assigned to someone less active or something - I don't deserve her!) made dinner for us twice! Actually, she's brought dinner in a total of 4 times since last fall (She is an amazing cook as well!). Yesterday, she came over to my house and stayed with the kids for 2 hours and I got to go to lunch with my mom and sister! SIX KIDS!! SHE TOOK ON MY SIX KIDS! It was nice to leave the house - empty handed! So many thoughtful gifts and visitors - from something as simple as a Krispy Kreme doughnut to a full blown out meal, we've truly been blessed. The Priests Quorum even brought us cookies! My kids think I should give birth more often because of all the goodies and food that people have brought in to us.

Here are a few pix...

Logan - almost two weeks old...

Aaron snuggles Logan.

Logan patiently waits for photo shoot to end so he can get a diaper change.

Logan's favorite past time - snuggling with mom.

And then we have moments like this - which are occurring more frequently, much to the kids disappointment.

It is funny how you forget all the things that a newborn brings into your life. The night time waking and feedings, constantly changing diapers, the tears (sometimes for baby AND for mommy!), the "what do I do now" feeling, and all the time spent feeding your new little one. But I must say that it is all worth it. I spent the first week just staring at him, snuggling him, and listening to him breathe, and feeling his familiar wiggles, moves, and hiccups. Being the only one who can truly calm your baby is quite an amazing feeling! Aaron asked me why Logan would always stop fussing when I picked him up. I told him it is because Logan has had an extra 9 months with me. The whole process just amazes me, and I am so grateful to be a mommy! It is my favorite thing to do, and my favorite past time... even though there are moments (or sometimes days, or weeks, and even months), where a particular child isn't necessarily my favorite past time. All in all, I'm grateful for this calling I have, to be a mother to these six beautiful children. What a blessing they are to me, and how lucky I am to be a woman and a MOTHER!

HE'S HERE!!

Some of you know that I was bound and determined to have this little guy last Friday. Well, I had a few things to do first, so I did all the morning stuff, cut Zack and Seth's hair, gave them baths, and cleaned my bathroom. By 1:00, the three older kids were off playing with friends, so I took the boys over to my parents house so Seth could have a nap. At 1:30 I sent Roman a text message and asked him to come home, cuz we were going to the hospital! I still wasn't having any real consistent contractions, but as I mentioned earlier, the doc said if I went to the hospital at a 4 or 5, they probably wouldn't send me home.

So we get there around 2:20 and go up to Labor and Delivery triage. They bring me in and get me going on the monitor (in my little heart, I knew there wouldn't be much action on the monitor). We sat there for about 20 minutes and I think I had 3 contractions at the most. So the nurse sent me walkin (I was in "the gown" by the way - although she gave me second gown to wear the opposite direction - like a robe - so I'd have FULL COVERAGE on the backside!).

So off we went. First we went down the hall and visited my little sister, Carolee, who was working that day. She is a nurse in the NICU. So we got to visit with her for a minute (I wanted to keep moving!). Roman kept getting caught up with all the pictures/stories/news on the walls, so I was walking by myself at times - pacing back and forth to him. We went up to the 8th floor to the new mommy/baby unit. I walked by the window of babies (although only one was in the nursery at that time) and was even more determined to be holding my baby, rather than my belly, in a few hours! I refused to look at people in the eye - I didn't want the "oh, that poor miserable thing - she really wants to have that baby!" look.

Well, that was a very long hour. About 45 minutes into it I had to use the potty. I went back to triage and my nurse was talking on the phone to my doctor at that moment! After I used the restroom, the nurse told me that my doc said to send me home if I hadn't progressed. (GROWL!!!) I said, "That's not what he told me two days ago!! He's forgotten!" For some reason he was thinking I was set to be induced this coming Monday... At this point I was ready for a fight. There was no way I was going home today!! So I asked the nurse to unlock the stairwell (they leave it locked for security), and let me do the stairs!!! After 10 minutes of 3 flights up 5 flights down (and a short elevator ride), I was back in triage. She asked about my contractions in the past hour - I had no idea. All I knew was that my lower back was aching. So she put the monitor back on me and my doctor called again. While she talked to him, she checked me and I was at a...... FIVE!!! So doc asks if I want an epidural and tells the nurse to admit me. She leaves the room and I look at Roman and say "YES!" (you know, the way our little kids do - with the hand action and everything).

At 4:45 pm I get into my L&D room and get hooked up to an IV and she drew my blood, and she said in about 1 hour I could get the epidural (in my mind I was OK with this since I had zip-o pain!).

At 5:45 the doctor comes in to break my water and check me... holy cow - I was at an 8 and he said my cervix was "melting away - fast"!! Roman had just gone downstairs to get some dinner, so I called him and said - "hurry up!". At this point, I was still not feeling much of anything (how in the heck did that happen!?!?).

At 6:15 I got the epidural. I think at this point I felt one strong contraction. They are still around 5-7 minutes apart. An hour later, I was still at an 8 (7:15 pm). So at about 7:30 they hooked me up to pitocin. At 7:50 the nurse checked me and I was at a 9! At 8:05 (I had been feeling the *pressure* at this point) she checked me and I was at a 10 and ready to go! The nurse called the doctor, who said he'd be with us in 6 minutes (he was at home with his family). So we waited - fairly easily thanks to that epidural! Doctor arrived and got all ready and there we all were - I was literally "in the spot light" as we stared at each other waiting for the next contraction (they never did get super close!). Just as the nurse increased the pitocin level, the contraction started. Doctor said that baby was still up in the birth canal and it may take a few pushes. Time to push!! Suddenly I hear a "splash" - a whole ton of amniotic fluid burst out of me and sprayed everywhere - everyone said "Whoa!" and I thought the baby had landed on the floor! No worries - it was just his head that I delivered in half a push!! Doc said "Stop pushing!!" and was able to pull the shoulders out one by one and before I knew it, I was holding my little Logan!!

MY "BEFORE" PICTURE

MY "AFTER" PICTURE!!

Logan Joseph Yoder

7 pounds 12 oz

20" long

Born at 8:20 pm on June 6, 2008

"MY DADDY IS MY HERO!"

Here he is, all cleaned up and looking handsome as ever!

Roman brought the big three kids Saturday afternoon (after their race - more to come on that). Here we are with big Sis Haley!

Sunday after church Roman brought all five of the kids up to see Logan. Here are proud big brothers Zack and Aaron.

And another big sis Megan
And Seth - who is so excited to have a baby in the house!
Here I am with my SIX KIDS!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOO HOOOO!
WE MADE IT AND IT WAS WORTH IT!!!