Rilla's 5th Birthday!

Rilla had her 5th Birthday last month. We had a BBQ at a friends house and let her open her presents there. She was very cute. She loves getting presents. We got her a wig, beads, and twist up color pencils. From her friend she got play makeup. From Grandma and Grandpa Osman she received an apron and play dishes. She loved getting their package in the mail. Her great Grandma Shirley sent her some money and she had fun shopping with it. She bought a pony and a mermaid Barbie. I am glad she really enjoyed her birthday. She is such a sweet little girl and such a joy to have in our family. She loves to be my little helper. She also loves to learn and play games.

More pictures!

Here are a few more pictures of James. He isn't all bundled up so you can see him better.

Our New Addition!

James (not his real name) joined our family on Friday, November 4th, at 4:13 PM. He weighed 8 ounds 11 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. I had him 10 days early, just like my last one. The labor went smoothly until the end. I had enough time to get an epidural, which I was so happy about. But his vitals dropped shortly after and I had a doctor, two midwives, and 5 nurses rush in and deliver him as quickly as possible (even though I was still only 8 cm dialated). They ended up using a vacuum and did an episiotomy to get him out quicker. It turns out the unbilical cord was wrapped around his neck so when he stated descending into the birth canal his vitals quickly dropped. I am grateful for their quick efforts. I am happy he is healthy and strong. He is doing so well. He is nursing well and such a delight to have. His siblings adore him. He is quite a bit bigger than we expected. The rest weighed between 7 pounds 2 ounces and 8 pounds 3 ounces. We came home from the hospital today and I am happy to be home.

Fall Break!

We had Fall Break last week. It was so much fun having Walter and Jem home for the week. With my ankle still hurting we didn't venture too far, but we still did get out. Tuesday we went to the Custom's House Museum. They have a great kids play area downstairs. Then ate a picnic lunch. Thursday we went to the park with a friend and her kids and had a picnic lunch. Friday was Rilla's Birthday and we went back to the Custom's House Museum. They were very fun outings.

Gil's Birthday!

Gil's Birthday fell on General Conference weekend. Friday night we had a ward temple trip. I arranged a babysitter and Gil and I left and before we even got out of town, we got a flat tire. Three hours later we had a new tire on it but of course missed the temple. I was disappointed since I am about to have a baby and it isn't easy to go to the temple when nursing.

General Conference was great. I really enjoyed all the sessions. The 2nd dession on Saturday was my favorite. I love being able to watch it at home. My older boys did a great job listening to at least half of each session (Walter even listened to the whole first session).

We made cup cakes for Gil's Birthday. Rilla loved helping make them.

Ward Campout!

We had a ward camp out a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. The kids got to run around and play and we had a lot of fun with our friends from church. We had a nice campfire and I slept very comfortably on a mattress in the back of Gil's truck. My ankle still hurt quite a bit, but not much more than it would have at home anyway. In the morning we ate breakfast around the campfire and visited.

Baseball!

Jem did baseball this summer and Rilla and Shirley did Blastball. Blastball is a simpler version of baseball. I was their coach. I had 8 kids on my team (one never came. 2 were my kids and 2 were my friend Annalisa's kids. Jem was on a team with Annalisa's other daughter and my other friend, Teressa's, son. It was fun, although very hot at the end. I am not sure what happened to the picturesfrom one of Rilla and Shirley's games. Here are a few pictures from one of Jem's games.

Jem did really well for his first time playing baseball. It was coach pitch and he actually can hit really well. He almost always hit the ball and made it to base. He didn't do so great in the outfield. He wasn't very good at paying attention. Luckily, the ball didn't go to him very often. At least he had fun. The games were exciting to watch. Blastball wasn't nearly as fun. The kids (age 3 and 4) enjoyed playing in the dirt more than paying attention to the game.