Holladay Happenin's: Week ending 7-2-17

Last week I concluded the post saying hopefully this week I'd have a lot of pictures to post. Indeed, I do! Between mine and Madalyn's camera (she has a fancy one she bought for a photography class awhile back) we have 336 pictures. So this'll be a long post, mostly for scrapbooking purposes.

Last Sunday night: Last maternity picture of me ever. I've always loved being pregnant and feeling life growing inside me. I'm going to miss those sweet kicks and rolls and rubbing my big tummy.

Monday morning 7:30: Dropping our 4 youth off at the stake center to participate in a pioneer trek activity where they pushed handcarts for 3 days. Alexis was 2 weeks away from being 12 so they invited her too, Spencer is 13, Madalyn is 15, and Kylie is 16. It will be so fun having 4 kids in mutual for a year before Kylie graduates.

Lining up to sign in and get breakfast.

Meanwhile at home I only had 5 kids. It was great. It felt so quiet and empty that they would ask questions like, "Should we do family home evening with only 5 kids?" I explained lots of people do FHE with 5 or less kids. It just seemed like not enough people to even have jobs.

Reading books on the corner couch early one morning.

Wednesday: We picked up my sister, Lori from the airport, flying in from Nashville to see the birth and drive the kids to CA for a week. We went to the school lunch and then hung out at home until the kids came home from trek.

At 3:30 I picked up the 4 kids at the stake center. Unloading the gear from the trailers.

Everyone put their stuff in buckets and there were a lot of buckets to unload!

Completely filthy!

So happy to have them back home! And now I can have the baby!

Hugging Aunt Lori when we got home. After they showered and ate dinner I got working on trying to start labor by jumping on the tramp and things like that. :)

At 3:30am my water broke. I woke up the 3 older girls, Nathan, and my sister and we headed to the hospital. We got there at 4:01 and told them to call the doctor, I'm fast, even though I'd only had 1 contraction. They didn't listen. :) Four contractions later, at 4:30am, I was pushing her out. Nathan grabbed gloves and caught her. It was awesome. My sister and girls got to see it and she was born on Lori's birthday, just minutes before Lori's own birth. Even though I wasn't sure they'd want to share birthdays, I was grateful for the timing of it--right after trek and before the kids left for CA. Perfect!!

Getting measured--19 1/2"

She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz.

My 2nd smallest baby. Now we have five 8 lb babies, four 7 lb babies,

and one 6 lb baby (my breech miracle baby)

Madalyn

Kylie

Talea Jane Holladay

Alexis

Aunt Lori and Baby Talea. Happy Birthday both of you!

Proud Papa

Proud Mama

Getting footprints for the baby book

Getting a hearing test at 4 hours old. She failed because she hadn't even had a bath yet and her ears were dirty.

First bath

All done

Getting a good nap in.

The kids coming to see our little caboose. With every baby I love watching them come in with grins on their faces and then gather around the bassinet.

We have a picture like this with every baby since there were 3 little kids crowded around Alexis, standing on tiptoe to peer in.

Kaitlyn

Makenna

Thomas gets his turn to hold his buddy.

Samuel

Anderson, wearing the same shirt Sam wore at his birth.

Spencer measuring his hand against Talea's whole body.

Comparing fist sizes.

Alexis getting Talea dressed.

You might have to click on this one to make it bigger and see the kids in the mirror.

I love this picture.

Madalyn

I like all these because each of her faces looks like one of my other girls.

Getting rechecked now that her ears are cleaned and dried out. She passed.

Our celebratory dinner provided by the hospital. It was so sweet of them. Nathan got grilled salmon with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and a roll. I got chicken cordon bleu with the same sides. And we both got soup and a dessert.

Friday morning 10am. Ready to go home!

Getting out of the car.

All of her sisters admiring her.

My welcome home sign on the garage door.

Talea is a tiny doll, much smaller and calmer than Anderson was. He screamed no matter who held him so there wasn't much competition to hold him. With Talea it's another story. Someone is always in line to hold her.

Daddy gets a turn.

Saturday: We hung around all day, had my brother and his family visit, then went to a 4th of July neighbors party.

Big yawn, funny picture.

These pictures are just for scrapbooking purposes--to remember our ward neighbors if we ever move.

Admiring Talea--"The Prairie Princess" as Kristin calls her because she waited until the pioneers came into the valley (trekkers got back--a lot of the ward was praying for that)