Hello World!

Amanda has started to be more awake. She is finally ready to be born and say hello to the world. I had to share some pictures of our cute little baby girl.

Linden and Sarah are both very proud of their little sister. Natalie asked if she could take Mandee home and Sarah said, "No you can't, she is our baby." Linden never leaves her side. He is always near when Mandee is around.

Here's Mandee!!!

I love it when her eyes are open. They are so bright!

Linden and Sarah got a lot of games for Christmas. They also got this cool table for Christmas. This is a picture of them playing with their friends Garrett and Leah who are moving. We are sad they are going and had one last play date.

Our Christmas Story!!!

WARNING: There are a lot of pictures on this post. The story that goes along with them is crazy and hard to believe and I wouldn't believe it if I didn't live it. Enjoy!!

Our Christmas story begins with Ryan Graduating with his Bachelors Degree!! Yeah!! He finished school on December 15 and started his new job at Conservice as a Web Developer in Logan on December 19.

We went to see the lights on Temple Square on the busiest night in Salt Lake. It was fun to see the lights and the kids enjoyed themselves. It was Ryan's graduation celebration!

And now the story begins. . .
On December 23, Ang went to her normal Dr. visit and her blood pressure was really high. The baby's heart rate was also high so she was sent over to the hospital to monitor the baby. Her appointment was at 9:00 a.m. and she left the hospital at 5:00 after an ultrasound, baby monitoring, blood pressure monitoring, blood work, etc, with blood pressure medication. She was told to take it easy and basically be on bed rest. An extremely painful headache began that no Tylenol would touch and after a call to the hospital, Ryan and Angela were on their way back. This time the Dr. told them, they would be there for the night. A few minutes later he came back and told us that we would be heading to Ogden. At first it was by ambulance and then it was decided that I would be life flighted. Yes, I rode in a helicopter to MckayDee Hospital in Ogden arriving at 3:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Ryan and mom came down in the car and arrive at about 4:30 a.m. With IV's and a lot of blood pressure medication, the headache went away and the blood pressure went down. The Dr. released us on Christmas Eve night and we were able to get home about 8:30 on Christmas Eve, grateful to be able to spend Christmas with our kids.

Sarah got a cradle and baby!

Linden got an unpainted, unfinished barn because Santa's helpers were a little distracted and spent a good working day in the hospital.


Ryan got an electric fireplace.

It came time for naps on Christmas and Linden threw one of his defiant fits by dropping when Ryan grabbed his hand to take him to bed and dislocated his elbow. We thought at first he was just being tired and grumpy, but he would wake up crying during his nap so Ryan and Uncle Paul took Linden to the ER on Christmas to have it put back in. This picture is of Linden in pain. He had a hard time opening presents after that.

Ang made it until Tuesday and the headache came back and her blood pressure was 200/100. The Dr. in Ogden scheduled an appointment for Wednesday morning in his office and told us to come fasting because we may have to take the baby C-Section. The headache got worse and when Ryan got home from work he felt we needed to got to Ogden that night. He called the Dr. and the Dr. agreed so we drove in the car this time and were admitted into the hospital. The blood pressure went up and down all day Wednesday and by Thursday morning it was 169/114. The Dr. came in at 7:00 a.m. and said we were throwing in the towel and the baby was coming today. They wheeled Ang into labor and delivery at 8:00 a.m. and her water broke at 9:00 a.m. This baby was coming today regardless of what anyone said.

Because Ang was only 34 weeks and four days gestationally, the baby had to be delivered in the operating room. Hence Ryan's get up.

INTRODUCING:

AMANDA ROSE BECKSTEAD

She weighed 5 lbs. 2 oz. and was 18 1/4 inches long. It was so fun to find out we had a girl at the delivery table. She was also our first baby to not visit the NICU. What a miracle. She is tiny but tough.


These were glamor shots they took of her in the hospital. Mom snapped a picture while the photographer was getting ready.

My mom stayed with us on Friday because Ryan needed to be with Linden and Sarah since we hadn't seen them for a week. Her and Amanda bonded. I am so grateful to my mom for being there for us.

Such a sweet baby!


Ryan came back Friday night, but I wouldn't let my mom drive home since we had been up the entire night the night before. The nurses came in every hour and between that and feeding Amanda, we didn't sleep at all. My room was not a lot bigger than a closet so we had to be creative. My bed was to the left of Amanda's bed and there was a space on the other side of my bed for the nurse to walk.

Her favorite place to be is on her daddy's chest.

We came home on New Year's Eve. I couldn't believe that I had a baby that had stayed in my room with me and we were able to bring her home with us. It was awesome.


Linden, Sarah, and Amanda meeting for the first time. They love her.

Sarah holding her baby and Linden holding Mandee. They do not leave her side.

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Gummer took care of Linden and Sarah on Friday night and Saturday and were here to welcome Amanda home. It was so fun. As you can see Linden is a great big brother.

Love these kids.

We had to get a picture of them all in their monkey jammies. So size wise Linden and Sarah are practically twins.

Aunt Whitney came and did a photo shoot with Amanda yesterday and here are some of the pictures she took.

This is the cradle Sarah got for her baby. Amanda fits perfectly. She is a little doll.

We couldn't resist getting a picture with Sarah's doll. Amanda is bigger, but not by much.


It truly was a crazy but great Christmas and the best Christmas Present was having our little Amanda join our family!!!

Now the fun begins. Linden started getting a runny nose so I pulled out the masks from the hospital. Today, I went to the Dr. to get Amanda checked out and left the kids at mom's. When I got home, Linden looked white as a ghost and mom told me that he had thrown up several times. Mom kept him at her house and I took the girls home. Being a mother of three is a new challenge for me. I have a new appreciation for all mothers with multiple children. Any tips or tricks, please let me know.

Happy Winter!!!

Here are pictures from our Winter Storm on November 18. It took Ryan two hours to get home from Logan. As you can see from the pictures, it is still snowing, but Linden and Sarah couldn't stand not playing in it so we went out. They just walk around in it making trails and had a blast.

I had to add this picture because it is so cute. Sometimes, we break things up for naps to make it more fun. I let them take a nap together on the floor and this is what I found. I had to snap a picture. They are so cute when they are asleep!!

Happy Halloween!

This is for Grandpa Gummer, Grandma Linda, Grandma Greta, and all others who didn't get to see Linden and Sarah on Halloween. Thanks Carly for the cute Doro-fee dress as Sarah calls it. And thank you to Jackie for letting Sarah borrow your ruby red slippers.

Here's our Dorothy and the Scarecrow!! They don't even know who that is. I showed them pictures on the internet today so they could have some connection.

We stopped at the store to trick-or-treat to Grandpa Van!


Then went over to Whitney to visit Grandpa and Grandma Beckstead.


Grandpa built a big bonfire in the hollow and we had a smaller fire that we roasted hot dogs on. It was great fun!!


The kids had to sit with Grandpa on the four wheeler.

Hanging out around the campfire!! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma. It was a super fun Halloween!!

Pre-School Fun!

We have a lot of fun in preschool with Sydney, Linden, Sarah, and Maggie. Last year Sarah and Maggie just had to watch, but this year they can participate and they already know the Pledge of Allegiance just from watching last year.

We learned about emotions and how to handle different emotions. The kids decorated their masks and then we made faces with them to show emotion after reading the book "Today I Feel Silly" by Jamie Lee Curtis. Don't ask me why Linden wouldn't be in the picture with the girls. He gets his own picture.

We learned about pumpkins and how they can turn into Jack-O-Lanterns. We were so excited to have them feel the inside of pumpkin to experience a different texture. My kids wouldn't even help me separate out the seeds after I had taken them out. Maggie stuck her hand in and Sydney got into it later.
Linden and Sarah thought it was cool to carve the pumpkin and got excited at this point. They also enjoyed eating the pumpkin seeds that we roasted from inside our pumpkins.

This picture has nothing to do with preschool. We got ready to go somewhere and I took a picture of them. Linden calls these clothes his "Handsome" Clothes. These two are so fun!!