Every parent's worst fear

Losing a child. . . .

You think, "That would never happen to me. I keep and eye on my kids."
"The parents that loose their kids are pre-occupied and don't pay attention to their kids"
"How do you not know where your kids are every second."

That's just it, it happens in a second.

We were all enjoying a lovely day in Oak Glen, a local apple orchard. There is so much to do there! Cool hiking trails, picnics, playgrounds, apple picking, etc. . .

After a hike and lunch, we headed to the "town" area to go to what promised to be a fantastic petting zoo! We park, get all of our gear in the stroller, and head out. This place was SO busy. It was hard to maneuver the stroller through the crowd. We stopped at the top of the hill lined with vendors to decide our plan of action. We headed down the hill to find the petting zoo. We stopped to look at bow and arrows.

I realize this has been WAY too long for Capri to have been sitting in the stroller. She had to be upset. I look. . . she's not there. My heart didn't drop completely. I though she must be with another adult. I ask. . . when they all looked at blank faces: MY HEART DROPPED.

We began looking in the little inlet that we were in. NO LUCK.
David manned the exit (there were multiple) that we were closest to. Danielle kept track of the other kids. Bobby and I begin our search.

She was wearing bright green. That's what I kept telling myself. We had been looking for about 5 minutes, and had no idea how long she had been out of the stroller. I begin to panic:

What if she is in a car heading down the hill.What if she is in the crowd crying and nobody can tell because of the noise. It's been too long. We need to call the police. Our phones don't have reception. Grab the phone of person next to you. SCREAM! Don't scream that will only cause panic. 
STOP letting your mind wander and focus on GREEN! 

I see GREEN in another inlet. . . It's a stroller. . .heart drops more. .  . Panic rises again:

God, protect her. It's been too long. Where is my baby girl? Where is Bobby? What if he has her and I am panicking. He can't call me. What if he doesn't have her? Call someone. Grab a phone. Calm down and focus. Bobby won't be panicking. He will take action when he feels it's been too long.
Back to green.

I see green again. . . IT'S HER!!! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!! I have never held her tighter before! She wasn't scared until she saw me! Then she started crying. 

A woman and her 3 daughters noticed she wasn't with anybody and picked her up, at the top of the hill. Thank God, it was a woman! They were taking her to where all the music was to have somebody announce that they had found her. 

That was the scariest day of my life! It has been 3 weeks and I can't stop thanking God that she is with us. Our life could be very different right now if we hadn't found her. 

Snuggles your babies a little tighter today and every day!

The petting zoo WAS awesome! I relished in that I could enjoy it with my girl.

The Incredibles

This was super easy!
Red shirt, black pants, logo & mask made from felt! 

Halloween is FUN! I don't mean the scary side of it! But I love any excuse to get together with friends and dress up! I love to come up with a family costume theme each year and run with it! This year was great!! We were the INCREDIBLES! If you haven't seen that movie, you should!

WE had the Mario Brothers crew and Pirates from jake and the Neverland Pirates
join us! 

We went Trick-or-Treating!
We have never been before and I had to come up with a treat basket on a whim!
yes that is a Boogie Wipe container! Ha!
We alos decorated cookies! 

4th of July . . . suedo. . .

We made shirts for the kids! 

Bobby worked on 4th of July this year. . . and the past 3 years and the future 2 years. . . But that's the life of a fire family!
We planned a 2 little suedo 4th of July celebrations!

Jeremy was there. . . some how we missed a photo of him! 

Beach Day

Heidi-Rae's first trip to the beach! She slept  for most of it! But she loved her toes in the water and sand!

Gigi came with us! There was NO way I was tackling this on my own!
It turned out to be such relaxing day!

4 month old bathing beauty!

Heidi-Rae Update: 7 Months

Time goes by SO fast when you have an infant!!! Please, someone tell me how to make it slloooowwww down!

Her onesie says, "Bootiful."

Weight 

At her check up this month, Heidi-Rae weighted in at 18 pounds (75 percentile), 27 inches (50 percentile). We got 3 shots. They wanted to do 6! We decided to space them out. She got sick from her flu shot! Boo! 102.7* fever, cough, sniffles, aches. The whole 9 yards! Never again will I give her a flu shot!

Health

Aside from the sickness from the shot, we have a very healthy baby on our hands!

Sleep

Little Miss is still on about the same sleep schedule. Wakes up around 7am, takes a little nap from 10am-11am, another nap from 1:30pm-3:30pm, sometimes a tiny snooze from 6pm-6:30pm, and bed by 9pm. She wakes at 3am and 6am to eat.
Some days are off but this seems to be what she prefers.

Clothes

We are in 6 month and 6-9 month clothes! She is a doll!

Social

We have people at our house very often so Little Bit gets her share of social interaction. But she still prefers to be right next to Mama. She cries every time I leave the room. I must admit. .  . It's kinda nice to have a Mama's girl since the others are purely Daddy's!

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

For the most part, Jeremy and Capri adore Heidi! They have so much patience for her when she is upset, doing whatever it takes to help her out. Capri is a little rough sometimes, but we are working through that!

Diet

Breastmilk, baby!

Milestones 

Rolling is her means of transportation! It's so cute to watch her go from one end of the room to another! She also scooches backwards. She is sitting on her own, too. She is starting to mimic ours sounds: fake laughing and coughing! She loves to blow spit bubbles! She is also getting up on her knees and rocking! We are going to have a mover in no time!

Personality

Heidi is so ticklish! She love to be in her Jump-a-roo! She bounces and giggles all the time. She loves  to watch her brother and sister in their crazy play. She is a Mama's girl to the "T".

Post Pardum

Praise Jesus,  I have a few pairs of jeans to wear! But I have really slacked on doing my workouts I promised a few months ago! I could give you all the excuses in the world but the honest truth is I just need to make time for them.

Heidi-Rae 5 & 6 Month Update

So precious!

It's been a whirlwind of a few months! We went on a 2 week vacation to see family on the East Coast! Plus, taking the reins of 3 kids has got me busy, busy, busy! Without further a due . . .

Weight 

We are weighing in at a whooping 16 pounds! At 5 months Capri was 17 pounds. The thighs! The thighs! That picture doesn't do them justice! I'll have to get another one for next month!

Health

We had a little bout of stuffiness when w came home from vacation. Probably due to the clean air we were in then coming back into the smog! BLAH! Other then that, Heidi is in good health. I still keep dairy out of my diet. I ate some cheese on vacation, testing the waters, NO BUENO! I'll just keep it out until she's one! We are still on probiotics about once a day. On occasion, I forget and we are every other day for a week. Jeremy accidentally kicked her while walking over her! The picture above is her little injury! The first time she bled, aside from while in the hospital! SO sad!

Sleep

Again, I have to blame vacation! It disrupted the sleeping pattern! She's awake around 7am, naps from 10am-11am, 1:30pm-3pm, 6pm-6:30pm, and bed around 8pm. She also wakes up around 11pm and 5am to eat. This is not always consistent, it just seems to be what she wants at this point. I don't mind the middle of the night feedings. I love to get snuggles with her that I miss out on during the day with the other 2 monkeys running around.
We switched her from hr bassinet to the pack n play in our room. She loves to sleep with her blanket! We lost it on vacation, ordered another one, and sent it to my Aunt's house. Crazy, huh? The good thing was, she was ok going to sleep with one if the other kid's blankets, they were so sweet to share.
Side note: I'm selling the bassinet. The sad reality of no more babies is setting in. Adoption is still on the table. But since it's not for sure, I decided we can use the pack 'n play if we adopt a baby. It's easier to store! But selling the bassinet is a harsh reality.

Clothes

One of my favorite outfits from Capri!
Thank you Zia!

I have put the 3 month clothes away. We are into 3-6m and 6m. I was ok with this. I was ready for a change in her wardrobe! We have some pretty cute and fashionable things! Mostly due to hand-me-downs! Isn't is amazing how God provides?!

Social

I have to say we aren't out and about as often as I was with Capri and definitely not as much as with Jeremy. We are more home bodies as the kids multiply! We have playdates here and there. I really want to do Musical Munchkins with Heidi (and Capri for that matter) but the timing doesn't work out and I don't have someone to watch the other 2 while I'm in class with the one. Does that make sense? Anyway. . . it's ok. We do LOTS of music at home. Heidi does get to hang out with her Kailyn often! Mostly at our nail appointments! I love to think about the close bond they could have when they are older!

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

These 3 continue to melt my heart! I almost get choked up watching them intact together!

Diet

Not much has changed here. We are still on Breast milk. We will probably introduce food, more experimental then filling, around 10 months. Breast milk is fully sufficient for her nutrition up to a year. I feel like waiting that long would hinder a "try everything" approach.

Milestones

Heidi-Rae is rolling over, playing with toys, giggling, laughing, tracking with her eyes, knows all of our voices (me, Daddy, Jeremy & Capri). AND she had her first airplane ride! She did phenomenal!

Personality

Heidi has such a sweet personality. She is a "go with the flow" type of girl. She loves to be entertained by her siblings. She doesn't like to be in a room alone. The second we all leave a room (not intentionally) she cries. She loves to be in the baby carrier right next to Mommy or Daddy.

Post-Pardum 

Oh I really don't like this part! Why did I put this in here?! It's SO much harder to bounce back with #4! My body just doesn't want to get back there without ALOT of work. I was doing great with my workout videos I mentioned in the last update (4 months), I was feeling more toned and better about myself. BUT then my knee started acting up again! I had knee surgery in 2011 to remove a plika growth. I think it's back! Whomp, whom! So, working out, bending down with the kids, driving stick shift all hurt it! My next venture is Yoga! I think that will help me tone and be low impact on my knee! I'll let you know next month!

A few more shots of my sweet girl!

Slip-N-Slide

We rented a tractor to move the dirt for the last time, little did we know Bobby's dad intended to build a 100' Slip-N-Slide before the final steps were done to the back yard! It was SO MUCH FUN!! Especially considering it was 106* that day! Whew!

It started with everybody going on their own but it was too rocky. We were getting scratched up. Bobby (my brilliant, amazing husband) called the guy we got our CARPET from and asked if he was throwing any away! He had an entire dumpster FULL! Bobby got enough to cover the length of the SNS. That was much better!

The kids didn't have enough meat on their bones to get all the way to the bottom, so the Daddies and Grandpa (that guys is SO agile for being a grandpa, it's amazing) ran full speed with the kids holding on and flew ALL the way down!

Bottom Middle:
Another solution to get the kids to the bottom:
The kids would go, grownups right behind to give them speed she they got 1/2 way down.

The babies played too!
To beat the heat they were in diapers and sucking on ice filled wash cloths!

This was definitely a day to remember, kids and adults! 

Thanks, Grandpa! 

Heidi in Flip Flops

Our church is called Sandals Church. The babies through preschool is called Flip Flops! See what they did there? Cute, huh?

I. DID. IT! I left her in the nursery! It took until she was 3.5 months old. Ya know, "they" say, "It gets easier the more kids you have. It's only rough with the first."
"They" LIE! It was HARD! We are now about a month in and it's getting easier!

Heidi-Rae Update: 4 Months

Weight 

I'm not exactly sure how much she weighs! We don't have a scale. Last month she was 12 pounds. I'm guessing she is 14 this month. She has some cute little rolls on her thighs and a double chin!

Health

A clean bill! She loves to snuggle! It's good for the soul, must be why she is so healthy! I still have kept dairy out of my diet and she has 1oz of mint water with 1/2 tsp of probiotic powder each night around dinner time. It seems to keep her less gassy and more comfortable!

Sleep

This girl is such a great baby! She just goes with the flow. She sleeps in the car when need be, she eats when she wants or needs to, she loves to be held and play on the floors all the same. Her general schedule (although she changes it up based on our day) is wake up at 5am for milk, back to sleep until 8:30am. Nap 10:30am - 11:30am, 1:30pm - 3:30pm, and 6:30-7pm. She usually goes bed about 9pm.
She is a thumb sucker! The LEFT, haha! She also is attached to her blanket! Which we fostered! But we love!

Clothes

We are still rocking the 3 month clothes. We have moved to size 1 shoes.

Social

Like I said above, HR just goes with the flow. She loves to be held by anyone. There has only been one time she was crying when my mom was putting her to sleep and she wanted me. Which, I have to admit, felt pretty good as a Mama!
We took a trip to the beach, SeaWorld (Thank you SW for letting Firefighter and their families in free!), and we visit Daddy's station often! This particular day, he had a rough call involving a baby. He was so happy to snuggle with Heidi all evening.

Brotherly/Sisterly Love

Capri is getting better with being gentle! I'm able to leave Heidi playing on the floor an Capri will lay next to her, gently playing. There are still times she is too rough, I'm sure that won't fade! It is so difficult to get a picture of all 3 them, let alone ALL smiling.

Diet

100% Breastmilk!

Milestones 

Heidi is grabbing toys, giggling, she has found her toes, AND we checked her in to the nursery at church! BIG things happened this month! It's exciting to watch her start to realize there is a big world out there!

Personality

Words to describe our sweet girl: Easy-going, social, smiley, quiet, Mama's girl. She is such a great baby! She adds so much to our family! Can't imagine life without her!

Postpartum

I have been successful with my 10 minutes workout videos! The kids love it. They even remind me to do it! We usually do them after nap. Sometimes, depending how the kids are, we do 2 or 3! It's fun. I don't see any difference yet but i know it will come.