My Sweet little Tucker, how are you already turning 6 weeks old today?! You are such a good baby and we have enjoyed every second of your little life so far! I want to "note" some things about you so I can remember this short but sweet newborn stage!

At 6 weeks:

*You are such a laid-back baby. You go with the flow and are always very relaxed!

*You smile so easily! You love when we talk to you and usually have a big grin across your face as soon as we start! Taelyn ALWAYS gets you to smile! (you "officially" smiled for the first time at 4 1/2 weeks)

*You love to take everything in. You have got bright curious eyes and love to watch all the chaos going on around you!

*You are soooooooo adorable. Between Dave, me, and the kids, I am sure it gets said AT LEAST 100 times a day.

*Noise does not seem to bother you. You seem to actually sleep better with the door open so that you can hear the kids' chatter.

*You are so responsive to my voice. Actually to everyone who comes up and talks to you, but MINE seems to be your favorite! ;)

*You always have your hands up by your face and have ever since you came into this wide world! Both fists... right up under your chin.

*You have monkey toes. They are so cute! The nurses in the NICU used to say that you could climb trees with those toes!

*You LOVE your swaddler blanket!

*You have a love/hate relationship with the binky. If you are really tired, you will take it. Otherwise, you want NOTHING to do with it.

*We just broke out the infant swing, so far you seem to like it!

*You still sleep quite a bit. Usually you will be awake for a couple hours, 2 or 3 times a day.

*You like to have your butt patted hard when we rock you to sleep. (I know I shouldn't rock you, and I say every time that I am pregnant that I am NOT going to rock my baby, but I do. It's so hard to resist)

*You have always slept good at night. Generally you eat around 9:30 p.m. and then wake up and eat again around 3. You eat and poop a few times and then go right back to sleep until 7:00 a.m. Neither Daddy or I feel sleep deprived yet! =)

*Most of your meals consists of breast milk from a bottle. You favor the bottle over breast, which is fine. I pump around the clock and we make it work! The times that you have had to have formula, you are NOT impressed and tend to eat only half as much.

*You drink about 5 ounces every 3-4 hours. Sometimes you take as much as 6 1/2 ounces.

*You generally don't spit up. You've probably only spit up about a handful of times.

*Daddy and I enjoy watching our King Of Queen dvds every night when we are feeding/pumping.

*You poop A LOT and you poop LOUD! Usually it's as soon as we put a clean diaper on.

*You weighed 12lbs 13oz and measured 23 1/2 inches long at your appointment today.

*You've grown out of some of your 0-3 months clothes. I've just started pulling out and washing your 3-6 months clothes.

*You are loved by EVERY member of this family and we love to spoil you every day, all day. Thank you so much for being such a sweet little you!

Here are just a few of my favorite snapshots from the past couple weeks....

Welcome Tucker!

Tucker Lee was born on Thursday, April 8th at 6:44 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and measured 20 1/2 inches long. He's got reddish hair and looks like an absolute angel! He definitely resembles his big brothers and sisters and there's no doubt that he fits in just perfect with the rest of our family! My heart is bursting with love for this little guy!



After a rough start, they admitted him to the NICU when he was just 4 hours old. He had severe breathing issues and a pnuemothorax (collapsed lung). He had a LONG 10 day stay in the NICU and made a full recovery! These issues are not something that we should ever have to worry about again! They simply had to do with his transition into the world and now he is a very healthy boy! Praise the Lord!





After MANY people praying for him, we were able to bring him home on Sunday, April 18th! What a WONDERFUL day!





Sunday was also the first day that his brothers and sisters were able to meet him since there are very strict visitor policies at the NICU. They ALL fell in love with him instantly! This is our first night that we were ALL together.




Tucker is 2 weeks old today! He is such a sweet baby and he is about as perfect as they come! He is a great eater and has already gained 10 ounces, weighing in today at 9lbs 7ozs! He smiles ALL the time. I know they are not "on purpose", but the boy constantly has a big grin on his face! He loves to be talked to and is very alert and curious. He usually has 2 times during the day where he will stay awake for about 2 1/2 hours. The kids all love to hold him and sing or read to him. He is a very lucky and loved little brother!

The Final Countdown.....

I had my last check-up today with my doctor. He said everything is looking really good for being induced on Thursday! The baby has dropped considerably since I met with him last week. I am also dilated to 3 now! YAY!

This pregnancy has been awesome! Not that I haven't said it already on my blog! But at almost 38 weeks, I still feel amazing! Granted, it's not extremely easy to bend over or walk up the stairs... especially since the baby dropped last week! But I am so thankful that:

*I have been able to eat whatever I want...and MOST of the time, whenever I want it!

*I sleep comfortably at night. I wake up every couple hours to go to the bathroom, but I go right back to sleep!

*I have been able to keep up my energy throughout my pregnancy! I take my power nap in the afternoon and I'm good to go for the rest of the day!

*I don't have any aches or pains! I generally have absolutely no back pain! On a few occasions, if I have been up on my feet and runnin' around ALL day, my back will be a little sore at bedtime.

*I don't have any swelling.

*Besides one (pretty painful) UTI, this pregnancy has went perfectly smooth.

I LOVE THAT:

*Dave tells me everyday, all day, that he thinks I am adorable when I am pregnant. He rubs my belly every night. He is already head over heals in love with this baby... as am I! (I thank God for that man every day!) =)

*The kids love to get updates on the baby.... "What's he doin?", "Is he sleepin'?", "Does he have the hiccups?", etc. The girls and my littlest guys love to sit by me and rub on my belly. Even Ashton, being the oldest, has an awesome attitude about being a BIG brother for the 6th time! You would think this would get boring to him, but it doesn't! Bryson, my 5 year old, will say he's got a big hug for the baby and he will hug my belly! They are all so excited and talk about what/who he will look like, etc....

*Dave spoils me rotten! I am the type that usually will "over-do" myself. When he is home, he takes total charge and TRIES to get me to sit and relax as much as possible. Bless his heart... it usually doesn't work, because I am stubborn and like things done "my way"... but in the last couple weeks, it has worked quite a bit more than usual, and I am thankful he is such a sweetheart! He even gives me spontaneous foot rubs every couple nights! I likey!!! =)

*The baby is SOO wiggly! He is constantly moving still.... I have no idea HOW he has the room to move, but he is an active little thing! He pushes off of both hips and my ribs at the same time. He still has the hiccups SEVERAL times a day! And as I said, since he dropped, he is LOW, LOW, LOW... =) He already has his own little personality!

I have to admit, I am so sad to be at the end of this pregnancy. I enjoy being pregnant and feel blessed that God has allowed me to carry these 7 amazing little miracles! I enjoy every minute of the 9+ pregnancy months that I have gotten with each of my children! I know it sounds strange to a lot of women, but it brings tears to my eyes to think of NOT having my BIG baby belly with me everywhere I go and to NOT be able to feel his movements inside of me. So many times, I just sit with both of my hands on my belly and feel him. It brings a smile to my face. BUT the thought of meeting this baby face to face instantly makes me excited and giddy! He is so special to us and so loved (by so many) already! The thought of holding him in my arms and looking at his precious face does make it a little easier to "give up" the baby belly!


Big Mama... 37 1/2 weeks
(Dave said, and I quote, "You DO know that your belly is actually way more massive than it actually looks in that picture, right!?!?" HA!)


Bird's eye view



Anyways, our plan is to get things off and runnin' first thing Thursday morning. Pitocin started and my water broken right away! My longest labor (with pitocin) was 5 hours and my shortest was 2 hours. We are praying that this delivery will be as smooth and uncomplicated as my others were!

Please pray with us for a good labor and delivery and most of all, a healthy baby! =)

29 and Feelin' Fine!!!

We had our 29 week checkup with an ultrasound today! We got to see our "little" guy and he was just totally adorable! Here's some details...

*There is only ONE lil guy in there! No other babies were hiding!

*He is one BIG (healthy) boy! BIG as in....He is weighing in at over 5 pounds already and is in the 99th percentile. (FYI-the average weight for 29 weeks is 2 1/2 pounds!) And BOY as in.... we saw "boy parts" again... 2 words for this fella... NOT. SHY.

*He is head down... YAY! He had his hands and feet by his face!?! (kinda as if you were changing his diaper and then some) Did NOT look comfortable at all!

*He has the CUTEST chubby cheeks that I already want to just kiss right off of his face!

*I will start seeing my doctor every 2 weeks now!

*In order to deliver him naturally, like I have all my other children, I will probably be induced at least 4 weeks early (by the end of March) if he has not come by then! =)

*My 3 little guys LOVED seeing him in the ultrasound! They were so excited! At one point, the screen went dark and Nevin totally panicked, saying "Oh no!! Where'd he go!??!"


On a side note, here's some other random facts (for my records mostly)....

*I'm still feeling awesome! Even though I do feel pretty "stuffed with baby" at this point, it hasn't slowed me down much. I do tend to ask the kids (more often) to pick stuff up for me off the floor... so I can avoid bending over!

*For the first time ever, I got acid reflux the other night. Come to find out, I can't eat sweets after 9:00 pm or this acid reflux rears it's ugly head at about 3 a.m.! YUK! So I avoid the late-night sweets now and it's all good! It's probably best anyways! ;)

*Even though I look like I've swallowed a watermelon, I've only gained 13 lbs so far. YAY!

*He still wiggles around... 24/7! They are different "bigger" movements now, but it is CONSTANT!

*He still gets the hiccups quite often. One day I counted 11 times! The kids love to feel the hiccups and my little guys think it's hilarious for some reason!

*ALL of the kids get more and more excited every day!

*Dave is still crazy about my belly! He is always rubbing it and trying to get him to kick...which usually doesn't take much! The other day when I walked into the bedroom, Dave started laughing hysterically. I asked him what in the world he was laughing at. He said, "Your belly enters the room way before you do!"

*We plan on doing some MAJOR baby preparation over these next couple weeks! Up until today, I was thinking I still had 2 1/2 months left to plan and organize! Now that we are down to 4 to 6 weeks, my OCD personality is gonna kick in and I WILL have everything ready ASAP! We need to buy quite a bit because a lot of our boy "hand-me-downs" had been handed down too many times, so I got rid of a lot. PLUS when we moved, we stored stuff in our unfinished, leaky basement and a lot of it got moldy! =( But it's ok....buying baby stuff is the fun part! I'm sure I will have a ton of help from my girls when it comes to shopping!

*I am already "whining" about NOT being pregnant already! I'm so NOT ready for this pregnancy to be over.... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being pregnant. Not that you didn't know that already!

*That being said... I also have this overwhelming feeling to snuggle, smell, and kiss this new sweet babe! I totally adore seeing my husband hold and care for our kids... especially our newborns! (ahhh... it makes my heart skip a beat!) I also enjoy seeing our older kids fall in love with their new sibling! Needless to say, this appointment got us even MORE hyped and ready to meet this little sweet face.....


(That's his right arm crossed over with his hand under his left cheek! It was so angelic looking! I wish the pic would have scanned up better, but you get the point)


And for the record... here's a pic of the big-belly Mama...


Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support! We appreciate it! =)

27 Week Check-Up

I had my 27 week prenatal visit this week! This pregnancy is flying by! I did my glucose screening and I flunked it by 4 points! I had to go back and retake it by doing the 3-hour test at the lab. I have never had to retake it before, and after doing it, I am very thankful I haven't had to up until now! =) In the end, the results came back perfectly normal. Praise the Lord!


I have gotten BIG... FAST! I have only gained about 12 pounds so far and that has been in the last 2 months. When the doctor did my uterine measurement (which should've measured 27 because it corresponds with the number of weeks that you are pregnant), it actually measured 35!!! YIKES! That means the baby is measuring 2 months ahead! He said even a "bigger" baby would normally measure around 29. We are, by the way, absolutely sure about our due-date, so this really puzzled the doctor! Now I am scheduled for a sonogram in 2 weeks. They are going to check and see just how big he actually is and also make sure there is NOT a second little one hiding in there. The doctor said that he thinks there is only a slim chance that would be the case, but that it IS possible! I, personally, just feel like he's very big, but I will admit that this pregnancy has been almost identical to my twin pregnancies. I would be thrilled to find a second babe hiding in there, but I REALLY want to know that our "little" guy is healthy! That sonogram can NOT come soon enough!


It was so sweet to hear his little heartbeat again. It almost always runs about 147. He is STILL constantly movin' and shakin' around! He gets the hiccups at least 3 or 4 times a day still too.

As for me, I feel awesome! I sleep good, eat good, and have plenty of energy as long as I can sneak in a 15 minute nap on most days! I absolutely LOVE being pregnant and I'm sad that this one is already coming to an end. I definitely feel that God has blessed us so much!

The kids are also getting into the pregnancy more and more! My girls will sit around and feel him kick all day long! Ashton, Bryson, and Nolan always come up with their fair share of questions/comments about the baby too... mostly about what he'll look like and how fun it will be when he is out here with us! Nevin is totally into it and always tells me that he loves my big belly and asks if he can "pet" the baby. He is still insisting that he has a baby in his tummy too. His baby's name is Toby, he says. He is so funny!

I will be sure to update when we get some more answers! Keep us/him in your prayers please! We appreciate all of the support that we get from our family and friends! Thank God for all of you!

Here's a 27 week belly shot...

I couldn't resist posting this one.
"The View From The Top".....

Happy 9th Birthday!

Yesterday, my baby girls turned 9 years old! Every time my children have a birthday, I am absolutely amazed at how time flies by! The girls have grown up so fast and I am so proud of the little ladies that they have become!

They are truly best friends and share such a unique bond! They are constantly playing together here at home, but at school, they have different best friends and are quite the social butterflies!

Right now, they spend most of their time reading, playing American Girl dolls, doing crafty projects, and playing with their little brothers! They are so great with the boys! They have such big hearts and love to teach the boys new things, usually while they are playing preschool with them! Both of the girls are SO excited about having a new baby brother! They are almost ALWAYS willing to help out (with a good attitude!) and have become a big help to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAELYN AND MARIYA! WE LOVE YOU!!!

22 Week Update

I am 22 weeks pregnant today! Oh my... the time is flying by! I feel fantastic! I always thank God for ANOTHER wonderful pregnancy so far! He supplies extra energy and a positive attitude for me everyday! As with my other pregnancies, I have honestly enjoyed every minute of this pregnancy! I wanted to write out a few things... mostly for my records since I am terrible about writing in my journal anymore!

It seemed like it took a little longer this time before I felt the baby move. In previous pregnancies, I felt the baby move around 15 to 16 weeks. This time, I was almost 18 weeks before I felt that ol' familiar flutter! I have just started feeling the baby kick "on the outside" now. So far, he is shying away from his Daddy and his siblings. They have yet to feel that kick! (Dave tries to feel him every night and usually he will kick as soon as Dave takes his hand off! He's a shy one, I guess!) I just can't get over how busy this little guy seems! He kicks all day long on most days. He also gets the hiccups several times a day.

We have tried to brainstorm and come up with his name, but have still not settled on one yet. We usually have our name picked out by this time, so we are getting a bit anxious! It seems like with the Holiday busyness going on in our home right now, it may not be settled on anytime in the next two weeks. In the meantime, we are keeping our ears and eyes open for that perfect name!

My belly is expanding in leaps and bounds and I love it! I enjoy being able to look down and witness God's new miracle for our family at any time of the day! I also love that Dave LOVES my belly! He can't seem to keep his hands off of it! He is constantly rubbing my belly and talking to our little boy! He tells me constantly how beautiful I am. No wonder we are on our 7th child, I am spoiled rotten!

Most strangers tend to think that I am due "about any day now", so when I tell them that I am due in April, they are usually pretty surprised! I have yet to gain weight at my doctor's appointments! (I'm sure that cutting off my coffee and night-time eating had something to do with that!) I do have an appointment coming up this next week, and I am sure I have had to gained some this month! Which is just fine with me.... carrying this big boy has to catch up with me sometime!


Here's a 22 week belly shot for the record!




I hope you are all enjoying the Holiday season!