The Best Christmas Ever

This precious baby girl 

is the number one, very best and most wonderful gift 

we received this Christmas.

 Rewind to last Tuesday and I'll recap the events of her arrival into the world.

12/20 @ 11am - 

Cody leaves work to meet me at the doctor's office where I have my membranes
stripped in hopes of inducing labor.

2pm - Cody heads back to work as I continue to have the same type of contractions 

I've been having for months!

6:30pm - Our fantastic sitter, Mrs. Aly, arrives so that we can attend a sealing at the Temple.
I am still experiencing frequent and "painful" contractions, but again they are the same type as I've been having, so we are up for attending the sealing. We depart to the temple with hospital bags packed, just in case, and our sitter had her overnight items in case she needs to spend the night.

6:40pm - As we head out the door Cody snaps the picture above just in case this is the last 

pregnant picture before baby arrives.

7-8pm - I squeeze Cody's hand tightly throughout the sealing each time another contraction hits.

8pm - We head to the hospital.
I was confident that if I were to walk a bit the contractions would come faster and stronger. 

8:30-9:30pm - We walk the halls of the hospital taking frequent pauses for contractions.

10pm- We head upstairs and are admitted to triage. After about 15 minutes on the monitors the nurse confirms that I was on a one way labor route headed to the magical moment.  
What could possibly be more magical?

Now I pause to express how much I LOVE this beautiful woman above. 

She is our OB and she truly is THE BEST!

When I'm pregnant I honestly get excited just to see her at my appointments. 

I told Cody last night that I am sad I won't be able to visit with her every week like I do towards the end of my pregnancies now that baby has arrived. She has delivered all of our girls except Brinley.

If you want to see her in action check out in THIS television series.

11pm-3:30am - I.V., epidural, contraction, contraction, contraction. More medicine administered through the epidural X3. Suffice it to say that this did quite a fantastic job of numbing my legs, but my stomach, especially the left side, missed out. 

Hence the boosters of medicine throughout. 

3:30am - Time to push.

3:44am - Our precious baby girl arrives!

Reese Noelle Young

7lbs. 6oz.

19 1/4 in. long

3:50am - Already smitten and oh so in love.

Although ultrasounds confirmed that Reese did not have a club foot, 

it was the first thing I examined when she came out.
Her feet are perfect!
In fact, everything about her is perfect. What a miracle.

Later that day Reese was introduced to her three older sisters. 

It was precious to observe.

Soon enough the arguing over who held her when and for how long began.
When it was departure time they were already asking when they could come visit again.

The next morning they were back.

This handsome man deserves a medal of honor!

This certainly was the most challenging pregnancy for me and
Cody patiently listened to each complaint with
empathy and understanding to the bitter, and I mean bitter, end.

Lots of back rubs, hugs during tearful moments and taking over on the home front helped me not only love him all the more, but also supported our entire family through this experience.

The day after arriving home we needed to delve right into our

Christmas Eve traditions.

Sugar cookies for Santa.

Opening ONE gift.

Reading the story of Jesus' birth by the tree and

writing down our individual gifts for Jesus in the upcoming year.

After encouraging the girls throughout the week to consider what 

gifts they would give to Jesus 

during the upcoming year, here is what they decided on individually:

Brinley: Read scriptures daily.

Avery: Personal daily prayer.

Aspen: Speak kindly to sisters.

Mommy: Live in Thanksgiving daily.

Daddy: Think before speaking.

Christmas morning was as Christmas morning is, magical for the children.

Avery's favorite gift = Hard shoes for Irish dance.

Brinley's favorite gift = A peg board for pictures to be hung in her room.

Aspen's favorite gift = A purple unicorn pillow pet.

Mom and Dad's favorite gift = Our fourth beautiful baby girl!

(Brinley has been a superb and loyal caregiver to her baby sister. She is quite comfortable holding and caring for Reese. Having a child who can help with the baby is a new and very welcomed change.)

We could not have asked for a better birth experience.

We had our fantastic doctor, each and every nurse was a pleasure to interact with,

Reese arrived before Christmas, not on Christmas (this was a big concern for Mama), 

our friends helped out with the girls to make it possible for Cody to be at the 

hospital when needed 

and we are all in great health, 

especially Mom now that baby is living outside of her womb.

Our pediatrician makes up person #3 on my dream team. 

He is friends with our OB and just as talented and fantastic 

at his profession as she is at hers.

As of Monday morning Reese is still perfect in every way and back up to her birth weight.

Merry Christmas

Baby pictures to come!

Irish Dance Class

Parents were allowed to come observe a little bit of class last week 

before the kids participated in a little Christmas party.

Chips 'n Mr. Elf

The girls made creative use out of a cardboard box that arrive this week. 

They fashioned a mini play, acting out the parts of the "wicked junk food" 

from THIS fantastic story about healthy eating.

When Brinley decided to be potato chips so did Avery and Aspen. 

Didn't get a shot of Aspen's little creation.

I LOVE all Brite music,

partially because I grew up on it, but mostly because it's awesome.

And just look who arrived to our home from the North Pole two nights ago.

This is the 3rd year that Mr. Elf has visited our home before Christmas.

He comes alive at night and gets into a bit of mischief before moving to a new location for the next day of behavior observation.

On Christmas Eve he will return to the North Pole once again to report to Santa.

On the first night Brinley wrote three questions to ask the Elf, Avery asked one.

They were so thrilled with the responses this morning that now Brinley has come up with 

17 additional questions to leave by Mr. Elf tonight and she is

fully expecting a response to each one come morning.

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas around our home =

Graham cracker gingerbread house creations

Big red bows

The annual fondue party

Cody's work party

Leah's work party...missing it this year

The Ward Christmas party

Teacher and neighbor treats

Kids school performances...

and this year one Mama who is 58.9 months pregnant!

 (YES our grass is STILL that green mid-December! There are blessings to constant rain I suppose.)

Not quite sure that the pudding bath tradition will happen this winter.

RSNA 2011

We just returned from a quick, fun and full trip to Chicago!

The Radiological Society of North America hosts an enormous conference at the 

McCormick Convention Center in Chicago each year during the week after Thanksgiving.

After our speedy 50 min. flight (love that) we met up with our friend Jeff for dinner here.

Then we headed back to our hotel so the boys could watch part of the "big game" that night.

It was so great to see you Jeff! Next time we can't wait to see Liz and Jacob as well!

Mr. handsome here gave one fantastic presentation at the conference on

"Technique, Safety and Efficacy of Ultrasound Guided Corticosteroid Injection Therapy of the Subtalar Joint in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis."

Say that 10X fast!

Watching him up there speaking like a pro in a language I hardly recognize
was such a highlight of the trip for me.

The 70,000 radiologists and exhibitors in attendance occupied every 

bit of the 2.7 million sq. feet inside the

largest convention center in the US,

which BTW is so huge it happens to have it's own zip code.

Even in a sea of people we managed to meet up with Jeff again.

One morning Cody guided me through the endless showcase of quite incredible "exhibits" 

boasting the latest and greatest the imaging world has to offer.

With the anthill of men and women in black suits and ties whizzing by I could not get a good shot of any of the exhibits, so this picture is googled from RSNA last year.

Another highlight of my trip was spending time with Kelty, Duane, Paige, Trey and even a little time with their kiddos. 

Kelty has become my #1 chauffeur in the city buzzing here and there effortlessly and even providing front door service 

before parking the car...

Oh how I appreciate that right now!

One evening Kelty and Duane hosted us for dinner 

at their place and Cody was able to meet

the new member of their family.

We watched as Duane's baby printed out a lego piece, but oh that is only the beginning. 

See what else she has printed HERE.

Duane is on the pioneering frontier of 3-D printer capabilities and technology! It's quite impressive and way over my head at the same time.

That night Rella got to know her Uncle Cody for the first time that she can remember 

and Aunt Leah was fortunate to give Rella her very first haircut! 

Yes, Rella is still quite the content and mild child.
Can't wait to see what happens when she romps around with our crew of kids.

Earlier that day I was lucky to be able to sit in on another impressive 

presentation Kelty gave to her class HERE. 

She is one poised and articulate graduate student and her new campus is modern and stunning!

After visiting Kelty's school we headed down the street to Duane's work.

After making it through not one, but TWO doors guarded by finger-print technology, we arrived in a scene out of a sci-fi movie. 

Desks were encircled about by 8-10 even 12 wrap around computer screens situated in "pods."

A quick stroll through the beautiful cafeteria areas stocked with various healthy food options for employees to consume for free at any time during their work day was enough for me to agree that Duane is with a great company! 

 The game room and basketball court also make GETCO pretty unique.

One afternoon Paige hosted Kelty and I in her home for a delicious lunch and some fun organizational rearranging. Fitting a family of 4, soon to be 5 in a 

Chicago City apartment on the 29th floor can be tricky!

Their apartment is situated right along Lakeshore Drive and boasts walls of windows which provide lots of natural sunlight and beautiful views of lake Michagan.

We also enjoyed sitting in the hot tub and watching Jude and Brooklyn swimming in the pool just hours before Cody and I boarded our plane back home.

On our last full night in the city Trey and Paige  

treated us to a delicious dinner 

together HERE.

We met up in our hotel room beforehand and praised the childcare providers for granting us all a night together without any interruptions. Trey wins the award 

for almost putting me into labor after cracking consecutive jokes...

the kind where you are laughing so hard you cry.

Oh it was sad to let that night end!

 (looking into the nursery windows)

We arrived home to the children all nestled and snug in their beds with visions of 

all the fun they had with Auntie Y. still fresh in their heads.

It would take another full post to detail the events that took place around the home front while we were away. Suffice it to say that the children did not miss us one bit and thoroughly enjoyed their home vacation as much as we did ours.

The following morning after Yvette joined my Urban Iron class for the second time that week, so fun to have her in class, we headed off to the hospital for the kids to participate in a much anticipated "big sibling" class. 

It was cute and they felt special, involved and important, which was the goal.

Then we were off to the airport to say good-bye to Auntie Y. until 

we see her again when she comes out Dec. 27th for baby. 

A BIG HUGE thanks for coming out to care for the girls while we were away!!!

We love you.

Baby #4

I thought it was finally time to announce that we are having another

GIRL!

We found out oh about 4.5 months ago, but this mama has failed to blog about it.

We are just thrilled to welcome our newest addition soon,

 Cody is especially looking forward to being surrounded 

by 5 females for quite some time!

Good thing he listens and lives the advice from great talks like THIS  

so that he can be the 

best darn dad to our little flock of females.

(Belly size as of 8:15pm last night!)

And now a mini recap of pregnancy #4.

After the nausea calmed down I was surprised with an early diagnosis of placenta previa and at about 4 months was forced to drop teaching my cardio classes and had to take a leave of absence from all of my classes and working out in general for a couple of weeks.

Fortunately I was able to get back to teaching my Body Pump classes shortly thereafter and am still teaching today. I'm actually scheduled to teach up until my due date, which is Dec. 30th.

Aside from that early hiccup I've enjoyed constant contractions since about 5.5 months gestation, which have become stronger and more regular with each passing week it seems.

When I was pregnant with Brinley I was under the impression that the feeling I had like I would surely explode if my stomach expanded one more tiny inch would lessen with future pregnancies, 

I've now learned x4, that for me it doesn't. 

This morning after my class I had a member say I looked like I was ready to explode.

I just looked at her, smiled and said "well that's exactly how I feel."

I'm measuring right on target, which means this will surely be our biggest baby yet.

Since Aspen was the biggest at 7lbs. 2 or so oz. I'm guessing baby will be in the high 7lb. range.

Even in light of the fun pregnancy aches and pains I've loved and tried my best to relish this sweet experience of having a little human growing inside of me. Feeling her kick and punch and hiccup all the livelong day and night is special and so cool.

What an amazing and miraculous opportunity 

it's been to grow each of our wee ones inside me.

When I hear about the NICU babies Dr. Young treats with numerous mental and physical abnormalities it further drives home the precious gift of a healthy baby.
Ultrasounds seem to indicate that this baby will not have a club foot!

SO, with this in mind I gird up my loins for a fabulous last month of pregnancy!

Happy Anniversary Darling

In our 10 years together we have welcomed 3, almost 4 babies into our lives.

#1

#1 and #2

#1, #2 and #3

We have lived in 4 states:

Ohio

California

Missouri

Utah

We have survived medical school,

residency,

and 5 months of fellowship.

 We have been to Mexico twice.

 We have enjoyed snow storms and

birthdays and
 

and holidays

and various interview seasons.

We've laughed and cried together.
We've been excited and disappointed together.
We've made major decisions together and learned to become better parents together.
We've lingered late into the night just talking to each other.
We've comforted crying children throughout countless nights together.
We've learned to communicate better and appreciate one another even more.

Darling, today, on our 10 year anniversary, I truly feel like "I Am The Luckiest!"
I love to spend time with you, to learn and grow with you and to be your biggest cheerleader.
You are my best friend and a person whom I greatly admire.

I look forward to an eternity of future memories we will create together
and a past full of memories
I will cherish for a lifetime!

Happy Birthday Handsome

Well, what a grand birthday celebration my husband enjoyed on Saturday.

He started off his day at the crack of dawn, as usual, and headed off to the 

hospital in the wee hours of the morning.

After a full day of work he came home to streamers littering the house and three girls who all wanted him to open their gift first (even though each of them gave him the same type of shirt for work).

Aspen spoiled the "surprise" by telling him what was in the wrapped packages which sparked a firestorm of tears and frustration from her elder sisters and
 the arguments over which gift to open first continued.

Patiently Cody calmed the tears and did his best to keep the ongoing fighting to a minimum as Aspen insisted she open the gifts on Daddy's behalf while Avery sat by in agony expressing her frustration at her younger sisters involvement.

After dinner the plan was to have a little family game time, which always presents more opportunities for conflict (what game to play, who goes first, Aspen playing out of turn, etc), not to mention how Brinley was completely distraught that we were going to have the birthday dessert AFTER the games and not BEFORE.

To wrap up his fabulous evening of birthday fun Cody proceeded
to be at the forefront of bath time.

Bath time is another great opportunity for sibling conflict, so many possible battles!
What bath to use, how high to fill the water, water temperature, what toys to play with, bubbles or none, food coloring or none, begging for more time in the bath, Aspen's tears when it comes time to wash hair, who gets out first, shall I continue?
  Certainly this was a wonderful way for Cody to finish up his  
magical evening celebration!

But wait, alas there was more in store for this birthday boy.

After tooth brushing time, stories, scriptures, prayers, songs,
kisses and last minute requests from the girls...wow, I can't believe we do this every night...
Cody retired to the very relaxing task of cramming in preparation for an hour long lecture he is giving to the residents, fellows and attendings this week.

And now I arrive at the reason why I tell the "real story" of Cody's Birthday-
As he spoke with family members that evening and they inquired as to how his birthday had been,
he pleasantly responded "oh it's been a great day." 

This is one of the reasons that I love my husband!
He didn't feel sad or down, he didn't wish for more, he was just happy and content
with the evening-time chaos and his simplified, child-centered "celebration" this year.

Another Week at the Young Home

Aspen was very proud of the grape smelling play dough she made 

at Mrs. Andrea's school the other day.

 She shared it with Avery and they made these clever creations.

These awesome bubbles were a gift to Aspen from Aunt Kelty. 

The girls love to blow them up, play with them for a few minutes, 

pop them and do it all over again and again and again!

When Cody is gone I often go simple on mealtime! 

(They did have a bagel too so don't go thinking I'm starving the children)

After a week long Pediatric Cardiology Radiology Conference 

in Toronto, Canada and a few days in Denver for a job interview,
Cody will arrive home tonight and we are so glad!

Avery gets very creative when it comes to putting away her clean laundry. 

It's amazing how many different stalling techniques she comes 

up with to prolong the process.

We have had several beautiful sunny days and the 

girls took advantage of the warmth a few nights ago.

They worked together to create this massive pile of leaves and then played it in.

Good creative clean fun makes my heart sing!

When at home Aspen prefers to be wearing a leotard at all times.

Although it was much too cool to be outside in this item of choice, 

Aspen was determined she would NOT be cold!

She was not outside for long. 

When I asked if she was coming in because she was cold she casually stated 

"Nope, just done playing outside," quite obviously unwilling to admit the truth.