Technical Error

Smehow I missed this in the last post... Here's a pic of Chloe as Marioposa (up until today she wanted to be a princess - a good thing I waited until the last minute. She loved her outfit.. and I made her a cape / skirt thing like the mariposa doll. For those that saw the bday album, she has been the ONLY one to play with mariposa unless the younger one seees the older one playing with it. Then, it's a cool toy wanted by all.

Hall-o-ween!

This is the first time I've let him sleep tummy down... he slept much better. Not so much reflux; not so many cries interrupting his needed sleep. He slept for about 3 hours like this. Yes, I think he is a tummy sleeper. What a cutie patootie!

Here is Gabriel's outfit - he's a bear. GRRRRR! Ferocious!

I got the idea for a purple under-cape from my OH friend- thanks Laura! I made this today in case they changed what they wanted to be. Eva maintaned her 'mean old witch with a hat' position. Until I made the cape, and she wanted to be a princess. "no." I said. "No changing minds now. You WILL wear this cape tonight. You can be a princess tomorrow." (as she's crying her eyes out). After it was actually made all the way, I put it on and she started screaming " Batman!" and running around the house. She ran around for about 10 min. like this, and I was thinking... 'Batman?' I had no idea she even knew who Batman was, let alone run around and say ''Bat-MAN!" Someday, we might use the cape for Gabe, and he can be Bat-Man.... I suppose purple could be a manly color?

A pic of the two hooligan-o's together. I wish Chloe would've been looking at the camera. The other pic I have makes it look like Chloe is about to punch Eva.

Thanks Nana! (Eva got this for Halloween) Chloe got one as well, but Eva was in charge of those pics and well... I'll post some new ones later.

Only in Kingman do your packages come with dirt for free! This dirt was extra special because it woud not come off the package. I sorta smeared some in the lower left corner, but it was some seriously thick stuff. At least these packages make it to our house in good time. In Valle Vista, the UPS would have to call and get directions after sending like, 2 people out to try and deliver it (another wonderful reason to be a city-slicker)

Frogs, Pumpkins, and Ballerinas - oh my!

This was a froggie outfit from Aunt Steffie... it was perfect for him that day. He was a scatcha-holic!! There are little froggie heads on the feet- and the caption on the shirt said so hoppy!

We carved pumpkins last night for FHE. Eva had a roarin' good time getting her hands gooey and all the designing really was fun for her. Luckily- I got to work with her and all she wanted was a happy pumpkin... by the time we got to the mouth she wanted an angry pumpkin. It worked though!

Chloe was, as you can see, distanced from the whole thing. Her chair is far away and her hand does NOT touch the pumpkin. She hasn't ever really liked carving pumpkins although she talks like she really loves the whole thing. What she loves is how daddy will scoop out her pumpkin for her and carve the whole thing as she dictates. What a girl, huh? :0) She can't stand the smell, the touch, and isn't even a big fan of pumpkin pie as of yet. She doesn't like witches, ghosts, or anythin slightly spooky. We'll see if things change as the years go on. This year she chose to do a princess ballerina pumpkin. B carved a tiara on the top for her. He is such an awesome daddy!

And this morning, after I got my day started I came out to the living room and saw the girls voodoo-ing thier pumpkins. B and I had left the toothpicks out from last nights creating. I thought it was kinda funny. As the day has worn on they have taken the toothpicks out and put them back in in different places. I think it's a craft for them to do--sorta, so I've left it there. Things will be different once Gabe starts crawling though.

The House Now...

It's definitely a different dynamic with a third - and a new baby at that. Eva has taken on the whole idea that if she's in trouble she'll run to Gabe, kiss him and say "I love Baby Gabe." It's not working-don't worry. She is a great big sister though. She's the first to rock him, get his binki or anything else. She always wants to see his face to see how he's reacting and can't give enough hugs to him. Chloe is working on being so grown up about the whole thing. "All he does is scream and sleep," she told her uncle. She's a big helper for me though - the more dependable errand runner of the two. She loves to hold him, and sing to him. She tries to talk about him with a grown up attitude... she certainly is feeling like an adult.
The one thing that is hard is sharing the attention. Chloe is extremely high maintenance, so she's feeling that the most I expect. We've created *again* mommy & me time. Chloe is very anal about her time with me... and is sure to get it every day. It's a good thing though, because I honestly forget and I feeel as though I've spent time with her already, until I think about it. Chloe keeps me all to herself with her 15 min and Eva doesn't care at all if Chloe jumps in to her 15 min. Today Chloe and I had massage time. I gave her a massge - something I haven't done in a year or so -officially. She almost fell asleep, it was so cute! Eva wanted one and then forgot about it. Gabe loved his massage today too. I started trying to read to the girls more one on one and talk to them more while I'm nursing...
New things, new techniques and new ideas. If you have suggestions, I'd love to read 'em.

Even in this digital age, I still have the thought to do baby announcements. Here's my question... where can I do them for like... LESS than 1.00/card? Any ideas? I've attached these pics I'm going to use for it... if I ever bite that bullet, but I'm having a hard time spending the money on a much needed nursing bra, let alone paper that people will do who-knows-what with.... Not to belittle the mail recipients, but I know things only stick around for so long. That's ok-that's the way things should be unless you're a collector of sorts. I'm really excited that these pics turned out so well. Maybe anything is possible with this Picasa program, eh? The next tackle is the family portrait and Christmas newsletters...

Thank You!

A big thank you to everyone who gave us flowers and balloons! They are beautiful and my goal is to keep them looking beautiful as long as possible.
Thanks especially to my mom who gave up some of her final weeks with her other grandkids in Ohio (before they move away) to help me in AZ with the arrival of Gabriel. She took a lot of care with watching kids, giving me encouragement in the first week home, and made delicious dinners! Let's not forget the stories, snuggles, and pink chocolate milk that the kids will not forget!

One Week old!

He's one week old now and has received the 'snip, snip' - Brian was the brave daddy to take him to that appt. I am getting better about it all, but it was nerve wrecking for me... He's sleeping 2-3 hours at a time, and is alert much more than even the last few days. The girls are able to hold him while he looks at them, and are wonderfully big helpers from sun up to sun down!

My happy tired mommy moments waiting for the hospitals ok to leave...Chloe was verrry tired of waiting, too.

Our little Boo!

He has Arrived!

Chloe is sure proud and sooo big now - a big sister 2x

Eva asked "Who's that?" She was really excited to finally see Baby Gabe!

Grandma and Baby Gabriel!

Gabriel in all his glory being 1 day old! Our little Tiger!
Weight: 7 lbs 15 ounces
Length: 20.6 inches
Time: 10.7.08, at 1105pm
Yes, he is now a real live part of our family! All I had to do was travel out of town 90 miles and I went into labor. Three hours later Brian was just getting off work, and I was just passing his exit. My mom was driving (luckily) and was able to drop me off at the medical center and Brian met me there minutes later. I was hooked up to monitors, but not having progressed at all besides the contractions, was signing my discharge papers when Brian and I decided to take our time leaving. We walked around for a little more than 15 minutes or so and were convinced something was happening and it wasn't an option to leave. An hour later I had progressed enough to admit, and was on the way to the getting the ever wonderful epidural! And, three hours or so after that Baby Gabe arrived in 2 pushes!
Of course this was the one evening that I'd actually had quite a bit planned - feeding the missionaries after getting my mom, a grocery trip, and a scripture study class I'd organized.... go figure!
I feel wonderfully blessed to be able to have a healthy baby boy, to have had a safe delivery, and a quick recovery! I know that angels were there to give me strength while he was growing, to help him arrive, and that they gave me strength that day. It was a miraculous experience for Brian and I. We are so grateful to have this little stud in our family!

Sisters....

God made us sisters, Our hearts made us friends. Love keeps us bonded Thru thick and thru thin.Being family Gives permanent ties, For which I am grateful To be in your life. Though our paths may lead Down separate roads ,God gave us each other To help with the load.God had a great plan, As He always does. Growing together Was the best for us.I can't imagineMy life without you. Sisters are for keepsAnd forever true.

Everythings falling but baby....

Here we were on the first day of fall... now no one say a word about my belly. I was actually super happy about this overall find because I had been looking for them. Huge, but comfy. And comfort is the key for all advanced preggies! We went for a nature walk at a local park for FHE and picked up a lot of leaves and nuts. It was fun...

OOO ya chica chica!

This is a pic of the craft the kids did in joy school - they made fruit loop necklaces with their bodies (fingers). The months lessons were all geared toward the joy of our bodies. We learned our five senses and applied them with nature walks, smelling collages, tasting tests and all sorts of other things. It was pretty fun, and Eva really picked up on a lot! She learned about her brain, and esophagus mostly because we ate and thought a lot. This pic is just too perfect for Chloe. And notice the shirt - Nana? It's one of her favs! We'll see what they make this month in joy school!

The Richter Report..

There has been quite a bit of things going on the last week. My mom came into town Tuesday, the girls have been doing Joy School at another 'teachers' house, and today they had another dance class. They're also trying to get sleep in one way or another... or is that 'I'm trying to get them'. We haven't had any catastrophies this week, and the weather is cooling down.
B is really working hard at work, and trying to keep his sanity as his phone rings... He's got it worked out to be home after the baby comes for 10 days - working half days on the network. (sweet, huh?) He'll start school again soon - 1 class for the moment.
Yes - we watched the 29th come and go. For those who don't have my kids birthdays down as much as I do (lol) and have other life to worry about, my two girls both have birthdays coincidentally on the 29th. I was hoping for a 3rd 29th-er! You can't have it all, I suppose. I'll just be happy to see a healthy baby, be done with the *darned* doctors, and be able to go to the temple again without having my legs go absolutely crazy. There's some work to be done and I've had enough of a break!
Tomorrow is General Conference for us. We get to hear the prophets speak to us right from the TV 2 times a year, and this is one of them. The kids really like it- I think they feel the love from the apostles just from listening and watching them. I know I love hearing them talk, too!
That's the upshot for us right now!