Lincoln Park Zoo

We took advantage of one of the sunnier days this summer (come on, what is up with this weather??) and headed to the city to Lincoln Park Zoo. Highlights of the day:

- watching the monkeys eat their poo. Not a highlight for me, but the boys STILL talk about this.

- seeing a mommy zebra nurse her new baby. Aww, so cute. Then, once she was done nursing, she kicked him with her hind legs. Not so cute. They also still talk about this.

- watching the lions napping.

- walking through the penguin exhibit very quickly, as the boys couldn't stand the "stinky birds".

- snakes, crocodiles, spiders and all of the creepy crawlies. Again, not a highlight for me, but the boys really enjoyed them.

- seeing the polar bear swim around and taking a picture in front of it for Julia!!

- watching Gavin gleefully splash around in the fountains. In his diaper. The other boys splashed too, but Gavin enjoyed it the most!

- taking a picture of all four boys, who were all color coordinated. On accident? Maybe. But probably on purpose. :)

- having the front of our van fall off while driving and having to lay on the ground and tape it up with masking tape so we could make it back home from the city. Oh wait. Not a highlight.

All in all, a great day with the boys and Aunt Kaycie. Hopefully we'll go back soon!

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Summer =

Summer = grins and giggles,

sliding superheroes,

napping newborns,

curious cuties,

and slippery siblings!

Brotherly Love

Playing together in the crib

Playing trucks together

Admiring big brother

Gavin thought Hudson was hilarious because he kept trying to eat his shoulder

See? :)

Both of my 'babies' relaxing on my lap

Whenever people see me, they usually ask how I am adjusting to having another baby around. Then, the next question is almost always "How is Gavin doing with the new baby?" Most people who know our little Gavy know that he is very attached to Mom, so we weren't sure how he would do with a new little one to share Mom's attention with.

Well, it has been so heartwarming to see how much all of my boys adore Hudson, including Gavin. All three of the older boys care so deeply for their new baby brother. They spend so much time hugging, kissing, snuggling, and sharing with baby Hudson. I snapped these pictures of Gavin loving on little "Hudsie" (what Gavin calls the baby). What a great big brother Gavin is!

Landon's Wedding

Landon was a ring bearer for a friend of ours, Amy Lance. However, Landon seemed to think it was HIS wedding, and kept asking "When am I getting married?" I kept trying to remind him that it was Amy's wedding, but he was thoroughly convinced that he was the one getting married. When I asked him who he was going to marry, his face lit up brightly as he replied, "You, Mommy!" Too cute!

I was a little concerned that our usually 'squirrely' Landon would have trouble staying focused as he walked down the aisle, but he smiled brightly and did a great job! We had a great time at the wedding, and baby Hudson did a great job too.

Future CYT Star

Brayden has already been bitten by the theater bug! He recently finished his second semester in CYT and thoroughly loves performing. The theme for his class was "Toy Story" and Brayden played the role of Buzz Lightyear. He did a great job up on stage and I'm sure many CYT productions are in his future!

Introducing Hudson Taylor!!

When Ronnie and I were dating, we both talked about desiring four children after we got married. After having three boys in a row, I knew I wanted to try one more time for a girl. :) Ronnie wasn't so sure he wanted any more babies, but August rolled around, and once again, we were pregnant! I was so excited! This pregnancy was completely different from the other three, including many scary side effects that kept me on my knees praying throughout the pregnancy.

It felt like the days went by so slowly waiting for 20 weeks so we could find out the gender. Finally, the day rolled around, and we took the whole family in to find out the gender of our new family member. After minutes of looking at the screen, Brayden asked the million dollar question, "Is it a boy or a girl?" When the sweet ultrasound technician, Sarah, paused then said, "I don't want to tell you!", I knew instantly that we were once again seeing blue. :) After a day of processing, I was excited about the idea of having a house full of boys. After all, we do live in Wilson Hall!

Since we hadn't planned on being pregnant, I took a new part time job this year in addition to agreeing to direct two shows for CYT. My last day of work was going to be May 25th. The second show I signed on to direct was to take place the final two weekends of May. And guess when baby Hudson was due? May 25th! I decided to risk it and continue working and directing the CYT show, knowing that none of my babies had ever been early.

Well, proving once again that this pregnancy was nothing like my other ones, Hudson decided to come 2 1/2 weeks early! On the evening of May 14th, I came home from one of my CYT performances and just didn't feel quite right. I called my friend Martine who had just had a baby two months earlier to ask her how to know if I was going into labor soon. She recommended that I pack my bag just in case. I did just that, and the next morning at 6:20 a.m., I woke up because my water broke! I called the doctor, and we headed in to the hospital. I wasn't having any contractions, so I was given Pitocin to start contractions.

All three of my other boys were born in four hours or less, so I completely expected this baby to do the same. However, it had been 6.5 hours since my water broke, and I was still not progressing. I was having regular contractions, but they weren't very intense. The doctor came in (I think she was slightly disappointed that I wasn't progressing as quickly as normal either) and decided to do an internal monitor to monitor the level of my contractions. Well, something must have happened when she put on that internal monitor, because once she did, things started progressing quickly. After a couple of hard contractions, I started losing my focus. I really wanted some pain relief. I started asking for an epidural, but just like my other three birth experiences, it was "too late" for an epidural. I was not too happy about that! But, things did progress quickly, and after an hour and a half of hard labor, Hudson Taylor was born!

This little peanut was only 6 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 inches long. I am so in love with him!!

AWANA graduation

The two big boys finished out another year of AWANA!! Brayden finished his whole book and was very proud of the ribbon he received for that acheivement. Landon received a "participation award" (read between the lines-- didn't finish his book, haha) and was super proud to wear his vest and stand up on the stage. To celebrate, we went to Baskin Robbins for some delicious ice cream. It was 39 cent scoop night! Our entire family ate for about $2. :)

He is Risen!

Easter this year was wonderful. We celebrated with both sides of the family-- first at my parent's house for our annual egg hunt, and then at Ronnie's brother's house for another annual egg hunt. The boys had a blast, and we are still enjoying our Easter candy around here!