The Latest...

I am ready for a New Year. December was a good but challenging month. Illness visited my family during the month of December several times and I can honestly say we did not have a day during the whole month when someone was not sick. Unfortunately, Charlie became ill right on Christmas Eve so the girls and I celebrated by ourselves and he wasn't feeling any better on Christmas. With all of that going on and a newborn who is now 4 months old life continues to be crazy and often feels like I'm just getting by without much productivity. But, that being said I have cute happy girls and a loving husband and that's what matters most. I'll post a few pictures from our latest happenings.

An Eventful Thanksgiving Weekend

Our little Aubrey finally turned 3 years old the day before Thanksgiving so we started off our holiday weekend with celebrating all day. First we went to McDonald's for breakfast and then to an indoor kid play place that the kids love. For lunch we went to Chic-fil-a. Aubrey is allergic to Chic-fil-a so we always have to smuggle in some chicken nuggets from McDonald's, but they love going to Chic-fil-a so they can play in the indoor play area. We then went home to celebrate dinner/cake and presents with Charlie's mom, dad and brother. Aubrey remembered her sisters barbie cake and insisted that she have a barbie cake as well so once again grandma did a great job making the cake.

The next day was Thanksgiving and I forgot my camera but we had a wonderful time spending thanksgiving at Charlie's Uncles house with his extended family. Good food and good conversation. We then spent the next 2 days getting ready for Christmas while Charlie had the time off from work and so we could celebrate Christmas for as long as possible.

On Sunday we had Brynley blessed followed by a family luncheon.

We couldn't help but count our many blessings this Thanksgiving.

Month 2 with baby

Month 2 is just about over. This picture makes her look a little whiter and blonder than she really is but it captured one of her smiles. As you can tell from the picture below her coloring is similar to her big sister Aubrey.

Hula girls for Halloween

So month two was a bit more of a struggle for me but I am finally feeling adjusted. Aubrey was as perfect as a baby could be, she slept well, traveled well and was very content. Brynley seemed to be the opposite of that. But she is getting the hang of it and is sleeping a little longer and being more content and has learned how to smile and coo which I love. I am enjoying her more now and the girls continue to adore her. This month Hailey continued to be sick quite often but I think she is finally well. Charlie also built a play set out of an old play set someone was getting rid of. He had to replace some wood but it turned out really well and the girls love it. The weather is perfect so they spend a lot of their afternoon out there. I'm sure I will get plenty of pictures of them playing on it soon.

Our first month post baby

Brynley is officially one month old today.

It has been a long month so here is a little recap.

My mom and sister came out to help the first couple weeks. I probably would have gone insane without them. It took three of us just to take care of the kids and the household. One would be taking care of the baby and one would be taking care of the older two while one did the cooking or cleaning. The baby was pretty demanding the first two weeks and as soon a they left she became a little easier to handle so I'm surviving three so far but I'm not brave enough to go out in public with all three by myself yet.

Hailey has also become a big help. She likes to come home and take care of the baby so I can get something done, she even can put her to sleep. I've come a long way from when Hailey was a baby and I would hardly let my own mom take care of her to letting a six year old take care of the baby. She is very aware of others and what needs to be done, I find her cleaning up rooms without being asked and keeping Aubrey busy when she knows I am busy with the baby.

Aubrey is also content with hanging out at home and doesn't show any jealousy or animosity to her schedule.

Charlie's brother came home from his 2 year mission.

I had a birthday. We kept it low key this year since I have a baby attached to me but Charlie has been cooking a lot of meals as a present for my birthday and I've really enjoyed that. He has also been doing the grocery shopping and staying up with the baby and being an overall big help in the mom department.

We planted a garden

I don't have a picture for this but I also had a two day stay in the hospital as a result of an over reaction to a cold that Brynley had. That was not a fun experience and I learned a lot of how I would have done things differently. Thanks to Charlie and good friends the kids were taken care of while I spent two days in a small hospital room.

So that is our month in a nutshell, it has been a big adjustment for us and I have been a recluse but I think I am going to start coming out and adjusting to normal life again. I look forward to when Brynley can express happy emotions and sleeping through the night would be nice too but I know that is months from now.

Brynley Autumn Pahulu's Debut

Here she is!!! Brynley Autumn Pahulu, her middle name is for being born on the first day of fall. She was born 5 days late after 4 hours of labor and one push on Sept. 22, 2010 at 6:45 a.m. She weighs 9 lbs. 3 oz. and is 20 inches long. (Now before anyone gets jealous of the 4 hours just remember I have had a 15 hour and 8 hour labor and I feel the whole thing the whole time because I do it natural, but I have to say 4 hours is the way to go) I can't tell what color her hair is, some say blond some say red and some say brown so we will have to keep you posted on that; all we know for sure is it is light colored. She slept the whole first day and hardly ate and then the second day all she did was eat. I went home a little early so I didn't have to stay more than one night in the hospital and I love being home with my family. We are just going to enjoy this first week together as a family relaxing and letting dad do all the household duties. We are so grateful for our healthy precious Brynley.

These girls look like they are going to have a lot of fun times!

Still waiting...

This is me on my due date 2 days ago. I feel like I am the only woman in the world who stays pregnant so long after her due date but this time I am mentally prepared for it so it's no biggy. All I know is this will be the week when she comes.

Here are the girls enjoying their new play room. I love how they can play with each other so well... they can also fight well but we won't dwell on that. I am officially 2 weeks from my due date today. It is crazy to say that. Both Hailey and Aubrey were 6 days late so I am planning for 3 more weeks. It is funny how many strangers ask when you are due in that last month like they are expecting you to pop any second. It doesn't seem real to me that we are about to have a baby and this last month is going by way too fast. I guess I better get the baby clothes down and the car seat washed and pick a name and whatever else it is that I'm suppose to be doing. The girls are excited to have a sister. Yesterday Aubrey took a book and asked if she could read to the baby, then she held the book up to my tummy and turned the pages. She also likes to hug and kiss my tummy and tells me the baby is getting big. She seems to know a baby is in there but I always wonder if she really "gets it". This will probably be my last post until the little newcomer arrives. Ready or not here she comes!