Phoenix Zoo Photos

Halloween Photos

Birthday Photos

Most of the photos from the baby blessing, Logan's birthday, and Travis and Sara's reception are on my mom's camera so I'll hopefully get those next weekend!

Utah trip photos

This picture of me with Jude is in front of a glass case holding the walking stick of my ancestor Jude (Markham) was named after, Stephen Markham. It's in the church history museum and it was pretty cool to see it in person! The display case said, "Cane used by John Taylor at Carthage- Both John Taylor and Willard Richards used canes to beat down the guns that the attackers thrust through the jail-room door. John Taylor used this knotted hickory cane to fend off the assassins until he was seriously wounded. The cane belonged to Stephen Markham." The family records refer to this can as his "rascal beater" lol.

Blake and Laura

Blake is in the Elder's quorum presidency and is really enjoying his calling and the people he works with there. He'll be taking his A+ certification test in the next few weeks so he's been spending all of his spare time studying for that. He is still loading trucks for his dad in the mornings and working at the 55+ apartments 3 nights a week. They're going to add on another day to his schedule in a couple weeks though which will make us eligible for health insurance. This job has been a huge blessing for us and he loves that it gives him a quiet place to study too! I am keeping busy with the kids and just got called to be a ward missionary. I'm starting school in December and should hopefully have my bachelors finished this time next year! I'm excited and scared to be back in school but I think this will be a good decision for me and it will be nice to finally have it done! I've been in school off and on since fall of 2003 so it's been a long time coming. I'm getting this degree in accounting and the plan is to do some small business accounting from home until the kids are all in school and eventually to do the accounting for Blake when he starts his computer company. Plus it will be nice knowing that if something ever did happen to Blake I would have something to fall back on to support the family. In other news, we're getting excited for Thanksgiving! My family is coming next weekend for our Thanksgiving celebration so I'm getting excited for hosting that and then we'll do the Pedersen party Thanksgiving day and the Walker feast the day after! We have an awesome family so we're pretty excited to see everyone and this is my favorite holiday and time of year so I'm excited for it to finally cool down!

Jude

Jude is 2 1/2 months old already and growing like a weed. He still eats every 2-3 hours and rarely takes naps during the day. He actually slept 5 hours straight last night for the first time so I'm hoping that will start happening more often! He wants to be held constantly and throws a fit whenever he's set down during the day and has a hard time sleeping on his own at night. He is kind of a hard baby but as long as I let him nurse whenever he wants to and hold him nonstop he's a happy guy lol. And I guess I have the added benefit of toned arms lol. He is pretty smiley and has even started giggling at things. He is really strong and loves to stand up on our laps. He has found his hands in the last week or so and likes to look at them and grab at things. He loves to play with my hair when he's nursing and has started reaching out and rubbing your face when you hold him. He is really long and skinny so he's still in 0-3 month clothes for the most part but they're getting too short in the legs and still to big in the waist. He is such a cute little guy and is my permanent sidekick since he won't take a bottle. He looks like a cross between Logan and Blake's baby pictures but with my crazy eyebrows lol. We sure love him and it feels like the missing piece of our family is here now!

Brin

Brin just turned four and is still a very independent little girl. She wants to do everything on her own and doesn't like being told how or what to do. We put a hammock on the porch a week or so ago and she loves to swing on the hammock and sing songs. She loves dressing up in her princess costumes and changes her clothes at least three or four times a day. She loves to watch movies and tv. Her favorite movie is Rapunzel and her favorite show is the Fresh Beats Band. She has had a really hard time being the only kid at home during the day and we are working on teaching her how to entertain herself. She loves to ride her new scooter and loves to go places. She still has a hard time saying the letter 'r' but has an extensive vocabulary. I haven't done a formal preschool with her but she has picked up a lot just from hearing Logan and from our occasional lessons. She loves girly things like getting her nails painted and having pretty hair but also loves things like bugs and dirt. Her favorite foods are jello and macaroni and cheese. She loves to "mother" and her baby dolls are still her favorite toys. She is very dramatic and makes a wide range of facial expressions. She is such a sweet girl and we love her to bits!

Logan

Logan turned six in September and is getting to be such a big kid. He is already chest high on me and growing every day. He loves school and is getting 100%s on everything in his progress report although we keep hearing that he needs to work on listening to directions. He does his homework on the bus ride home most days. He is a very thoughtful kid and is always looking for ways to help out. He loves to hold Jude and is very helpful in the kitchen. He has a very good memory and enjoys memorizing poems and stories for school. His writing has improved so much since school started and he can read short stories on his own now. He has picked up his phonograms very quickly and it has really made a difference in his reading and writing. He loves animals and loves to play outside with the neighbors dog, Duke, or inside with our cat, Batman. He is better at picking up his stuff in his room than Brin but hoards his things on his bed. I have to go in there every week or so and clear out all the clutter he accumulates. He loves scary things like zombies and vampires. His favorite toys are still his little Legos. He is such a good kid and I am so lucky to be his mommy!

Long overdue updates...

Since it's been so long since I last updated the blog I've got a lot to catch up on. Lets start with September... My baby brother got married in Utah so I got to take my first ever trip away from the kids (although I had to take the baby with me so I'm not sure it totally counted lol) and had a 5 day road trip with my parents and baby sister going there and back. It was so fun and I think all the sitting and resting in the car really helped me recover after the baby. Jude was so good the whole trip! He is my first exclusively breast fed baby so I had to pump in the car every few hours and then feed him by bottle but it was worth it. He has refused to drink from bottles since I've been home so I was really blessed that he took it on the trip. A couple weeks later, Travis and Sara had a reception here in Mesa so we got to see everyone again. Logan's birthday was also that weekend and we also blessed Jude that Sunday while everyone was in town so it was a very full and fun weekend! October was also a busy month. We kicked it off with general conference weekend then we had October break. The kids had a cold the first day or two which put a damper on things but we still were able to have a zoo day and a park day so it was still pretty fun. We met my family that lives in Yuma halfway in Gila Bend that Saturday and had a birthday party for Brin. She got totally spoiled and also had a party the next week with the Walker side of the family. I watched my old day care kids for a week in October and I am just so glad I don't have to do that anymore! The money was nice but I was so exhausted by the end of the day! I am so grateful to be able to just be a mommy this time around and not have to keep working. Blake had to work Mon-Sat the next week so that was kind of crazy. We had the ward Halloween party that Wednesday. I just got called to be a ward mission leader so I had my first meeting for that. It's kind of an intimidating calling for me but I'm looking forward to meeting new people and sharing my testimony of the Savior with them. We had a stake day of service on Saturday and helped paint a house for a single mom in downtown Mesa. I need to make more of an effort to do things like that with the kids because it was a really good experience for them. The kids had their primary program that Sunday and both did a great job. Halloween was this past week and the kids had so much fun! Logan was a vampire this year, Brin was Cinderella, and Jude was a cowboy. We went to Dave and Jodi's for trick or treating and a party and it was really fun to spend the holiday with the family. I got a bunch of cute pictures I'll post later. I can't believe how fast the time is going! It's already November! I'll do some kid updates in the next post. My apologies for the huge paragraphs. When I post from my iPad it doesn't let me separate the paragraphs.

2 weeks old!

Here is what we've learned about Jude so far... He loves to be held or carried in the sling but he's a really content baby and doesn't mind hanging out in his swing Or bouncer seat either. He still loves to suck on things and is a great nurser. He nurses 45-60 minutes at a time every 3-4 hours. He rarely spits up but the few times he has it's poltergeist style with cupfuls of milk spouting out of him. He typically only cries when he's getting his diaper changed. He loves the bath. He has a giant Cheerios-shaped belly button that sticks up under his clothes. He doesn't mind being held by the big kids and doesn't cry even when he looks super uncomfortable with how they're holding him. He sleeps more than I remember my other babies sleeping and can sleep through pretty much anything. He is very aware and curious about his surroundings when he is awake and makes me think of the term "old soul" with his intelligent gaze. He is abnormally strong for a two week old and holds his head up already and even rolled over a few times. He laughed and smiled at who knows what the other day but we haven't been able to get him to do it since. He is a very still and calm baby and is so sweet to snuggle with. We are all completely smitten with him!

Journal excerpt

I just wrote this in my journal but figured I'd stick it in here too for grandma: Journal 8/23/12- Had a funny experience while Blake was at work tonight. All three kids had a meltdown at once- Jude was hungry, Brin bit her lip, and Logan was having a rough night all night and had a meltdown when I told him he would be grounded from tv and computer tomorrow for tonights behavior. They all were crying and needed to be held and talked to. I held them all on my lap and got Brin and Jude calmed down and talked to Logan to find out why he has been having such a hard time.  He has been telling me he's sick every morning and trying to stay home from school. I know he loves school and loves his teacher so I just thought he was having a hard time with the early mornings. Tonight though he was saying that he was sick again so I got him calmed down enough to really talk to me about it. He told me he likes school but he just misses me so much and then he broke down into laugh/sobs (and so did I lol). Poor kid! I never even realized he was having a hard time! We had a good talk about how I'm always thinking about him and missing him when he is missing me and I'll always be there waiting when school is over. We also talked about how he can say a prayer if he's sad and heavenly father will comfort him and help him to feel better. Then Brin joined in and said to Logan, "I miss you so much when you're at school! I only have batman (the cat) to play with" and burst out sobbing. It definitely turned in to an interesting night! I'm so thankful that my kids love their family so much but my heart hurts for them knowing that they are struggling with all these changes we've had lately.

Pictures

Before (and during)...

Meeting Jude...

Coming home...

He's already looking a lot different than he looks in these pictures. I have a whole new batch of photos on my camera that I'll upload eventually.

Home Sweet Home

We are home now with the baby. I had him on Thursday (8/9) and we named him Jude Markham Walker (Markham after my ancestor Stephen Markham). I took notes during and after the delivery process so I wouldn't forget all the details like I did with my other babies so here are some of those and a ton of pictures for my mom who doesn't get to meet him until next weekend. I was induced at 8:30 am on Thursday, August 9. We started off with a bang when they put my IV in because they got a really good vein and blood literally gushed all over my arm and the floor before they could get the vials they needed for testing and plug it up. We played the waiting game for a few hours as contractions got harder. I got an epidural around 10:30 but things were still going pretty slowly. The doctor broke my water at one when I was at a 5 and 70% effaced. I was only at a 6 and 80% around 3 pm so the nurse had me lay on my side and put a giant peanut shaped ball between my legs to help him move down. It must have done it's job, because I was at a 9 at 4:40 and started shaking really hard with the contractions (I did that with the other two as well so I knew it was close). I felt the urge to push soon after so the Doctor came in. He realized the head was facing the wrong direction which was probably what caused me to progress so slowly so he reached his hand in, grabbed Jude's head, and turned him to face the right way. I pushed about 6-8 times and he was out by 4:56! He was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20.3 inches long. He is perfect! He cried a little and then stuck his thumb in his mouth and calmed himself down and started looking around. He took to nursing instantly and was awake and looking around most of the first evening and night. He was already lifting up and turning his head to see things. After the delivery, they had a hard time stopping my bleeding and I lost a lot of blood which was a bit scary (and my old episiotomy scars ripped open so I had to be sewn up) but once that was figured out it was fine. Grandma Sassy brought Logan and Brin to meet him that first night and they were so excited! Jude didn't want to sleep much the first night and cried every time I tried to lay him down so I had a sleepless first night. I enjoyed the one on one cuddle time it gave me to nurse and bond with him all night though. We had a lazy Friday with visitors and lots of laying around and resting. We came home Friday night but the kids stayed at the Walker's an extra day to let us have time to settle in. It turned out to be very good they did that because Jude didn't let me sleep much again so it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit before the big kids came home. This recovery was a lot harder than I expected and I spent most of my time from Saturday to Wednesday in bed due to engorgement, stitches healing, after pains, and exhaustion from all the blood I lost. It was not fun but I'm feeling so much better today! Now that my milk is in I've been able to get on a better schedule with Jude so that we're both getting a lot more sleep. Thank you to everyone who helped us out with meals and helping with the big kids! It made it so much easier knowing that things were getting done and I could just rest and recover. So far, Jude is a very content baby. He is a little piggy and nurses for about an hour every 2-3 hours so I'm guessing he'll chunk up quickly. The only time he really cries is when he gets his diaper changed :) We thought he looked more like Brin at the hospital but he's starting to look more like Logan everyday. He even has the cute little dimples in his cheeks that Logan has! The big kids are good helpers and are constantly asking if they can hold him. We are so blessed!

Crazy week

Between orientation, meet the teacher, check ups, getting ready for baby, getting ready for school, church meetings and everything else we've had a pretty crazy week so far! We were lucky to be able to have a quick visit with my cousin Melody and her cute kids. I sure wish my extended family lived closer! I have some seriously awesome cousins!

My sweet baby boy starts kindergarten today! In about 15 minutes he'll leave the playground and go in to his new classroom to start his day. We got a couple of pictures this morning before we left the house but the school bus got there like 10 minutes early (and across the street from where we thought it would be) so we didn't get to kiss him goodbye or take a picture of him getting on the bus or anything! I was so disappointed but in all honesty, it's probably a good thing. I'm an emotional mess lately and I wouldn't want him starting his day off having to say goodbye to a sobbing mommy lol. At least this way all he saw was mommy and daddy smiling and waving him off. I can't wait to hear how his first day went! We lucked out and got the teacher we wanted for him. She is actually an old family friend so I know he's going to have so much fun in her class!

Brin has been pretty sad that she has to stay at home while Logan gets to go to school all day. I'm hoping I can find someone to trade off teaching preschool with once I have the baby but for now she's stuck with me all day. Once I have the baby I'll try and keep to a schedule with her and do an hour or so of preschool everyday just so she doesn't get so bored. She is so different from Logan that it's hard to parent her. Everything that worked so well with him doesn't work at all with her so I'm hoping now that he's in school all day we'll be able to figure out what works for her better.

I had my 39 week checkup yesterday and got the disappointing news that I've only dilated one cm since last week. I'm currently at a two and not much is happening. Baby boy is a good 8 pounds already though so they put me on the list to be induced. I'm scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 am but the time/day could change depending on how busy the hospital is. It's so nice to see the end in sight! I'm planning on cleaning up the house today and stocking up on easy foods and snacks to help us get through the first week or so. I've got a freezer full of meals but it'll be nice to have things like bagels and yogurts on hand that the kids can get for themselves. Plus, all this busy work will keep me from crying too much about my big baby being gone at school all day lol!

Not much news...

Had some bloody show yesterday but the contractions are still irregular and mostly mild. I'm still sore and crampy from the exam on Tuesday. I tried eating a bunch of fresh pineapple yesterday which is supposed to soften your cervix but all it seemed to do was make my mouth break out in sores and my tongue swell up lol. I've tried all the usual things (except for castor oil. I refuse to take that stuff lol) but still there is nothing. I really hope he comes soon though because it feels like he's about to fall out every time I stand up. There is a family reunion for Blake's Mom's side of the family in Utah this weekend. Blake's parents were debating whether they should go since they were planning on watching the kids when I have the baby. They just decided to take our kids with them to the reunion so my plan for today is to clean up the house, catch up on laundry, and pack for the kid's trip. Blake starts his training at his new job tonight and tomorrow so it looks like it will be a quiet next few days of waiting.

38 weeks

Just had my weekly checkup. Baby is measuring in at about 7 lbs. 6 oz. and looking good. I'm only 1 cm dilated but 50% effaced and he stripped the membranes so hopefully that will help move things along. It hurt like the dickins and I'm feeling very sore and crampy now. I've been having fairly regular contractions about 20 mins apart and lasting about 1 minute long for the last day or two. The doctor said if I'm still prego at my appointment next Tuesday, he'll talk to me about scheduling an inducement. It's nice to see the end in sight!

37 weeks

Just got back from my weekly checkup and everything is looking good. He's about 6 1/2 pounds and measuring well. The doctor gave me the option of checking my cervix but I declined so I'm not sure if I've dilated or effaced or anything down there. I kinda feel like this guy is not coming for a while yet so why go through the miserable vag exam if it won't make anything go faster. He's wiggly and healthy and I'm huge but my Braxton hicks are still pretty weak and I just don't feel like my body is telling me he'll be here anytime soon. My guess is I'll not have him until after my due date which is ok with me at this point. In other news, we got the call today that Logan for sure got into the Ben Franklin campus closest to us. His twin boy cousins that are a month young than him are going there too so it will be fun for him to get to see them everyday. Brin was signed up for preschool at the elementary school in our neighborhood but they put her in the wrong program so it didn't end up working out for her to go. I'm going to start a preschool for her starting in September so let me know if you know of anyone interested in finding a preschool for their kid this year. It will be Tuesday's and Thursday's from 9-11 at my house in Mesa. We had some huge blessings in our family these past few weeks and I want to make sure I record them. First, we got a 401k reimbursement from Blake's last full-time job. It was just a bit more than what I usually make doing day care in a month so it will give us that much longer for blake to find a job before we have to start dipping into our savings. He's been looking for a job for over a month and a half and hasn't had a single call back until last week. He talked to the guy on the phone and it sounded like he'd have to work Sunday evenings. We normally wouldn't consider a job that required him to work on Sunday's but we prayed about it and felt like we needed to do whatever we could in this situation to support our family. He went to the interview and was offered the job and they actually changed the schedule around for him so he won't have to work on Sundays. This is such a huge blessing and I am so thankful that Heavenly Father heard and answered our prayers!

Big kids room makeover

Since my last day of daycare was Friday (yay for being able to sleep in now!) we decided to spend today making the kids room more fit for my older kids (and rehanging all the pictures and things the little daycare kid ripped off the walls in the last year or so) and giving it a deep clean. We got everything clean and even disinfected all the kids toys but it's still a work in progress as far as the decorating goes. I'm kicking myself for not taking a before picture, but here's what we've got after a day's work...

I moved in my old sewing desk to use as a kids art/learning area. The computer is password protected so they have to earn time by doing chores or working on their preschool books and then have mommy or daddy unlock the computer for them. They have a few games they can play (minecraft, asteroids, and chess) or they can play on pbskids.org. We'll have to see how it goes with leaving the craft stuff down. They usually have to ask for me to get that stuff down but I'm hoping they're old enough now that they can have access to everything without getting into too much trouble.

I made these chore charts a few weeks ago and they have worked wonders for getting the kids to help around the house. They know if they want computer time that they have to earn it and (usually) do their chores without me having to nag now. We moved this in from my room and put it by their door so they'll see it every morning and be reminded to do their chores.

All the kids toys are up in the closet so they have to clean up their current mess and ask for a new box if they want to play with something else. We've been doing this for about a year now and this seems to work great for us and it keeps the messes more manageable so we don't have meltdowns when it gets to be clean up time. I just found free clip art online to make the box labels.

When we got the kids their bunk bed last year we got them matching blankets and let them pick out fabric for pillowcases and art to hang in their area. It's nice to be able to have it all up again.

What I'd still like to (eventually) do: -line the curtains so they darken the room better and possibly shorten them a bit -touch up all the ripped up paint where the day care kid liked to peel it off -sand/paint the rocking chair and create a reading area with a spot for all the kids books -rehang the art rail (it's basically a couple of rulers with clothespins glued on for the kids to show off their art) -find a place for the vintage alphabet cards to hang I'm sure I'll find a million other things I want to do in there but that's it for now :)

Family Sleepover

On our "Summer Fun List" the kids wanted to do a family pajama party so we built a huge fort in the living room on Friday and had a sleepover. We watched a movie, ate homemade ice cream and popcorn, and used every blanket in the house to build a giant fort. The kids had a blast and I think even Blake had fun making the fort :) I opted out of sleeping in the fort but we'll have to do it again someday so I can come in too.

4th of July

I have not been very good at taking pictures lately. Plus, it seems like half the ones I do take are blurry thanks to my crappy camera. So these are all I ended up with from a fun, day long, Pedersen 4th of July party...

PS- I think Blake has photo-bombed a good half of the photos on my camera lol

Cute kids

Blake took this a few weeks ago to send to my dad for his birthday. I love how it turned out!

They are getting so grown up!

Quick week 35 update

Had a checkup yesterday and everything is looking good! Baby is head down and will most likely stay that way. He is measuring right on target for 35 weeks and the doctor said he's currently 5 lbs. 10 oz. He said I'm starting to dilate but am not effaced yet so it looks like I'll be here a while yet. I'm up about 35 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight and it definitely gives me to motivation to never let my weight get too out of control. The extra weight makes everything so much more uncomfortable and tiring. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep that feeling in mind when it comes time to lose the baby weight. I hate exercising but I hate the alternative more :) The swelling in my legs and feet is pretty much daily at this point. It is ridiculously hot and I feel like I never fully cool off even in the house. That's about all the baby news I can think of... I've got another appointment in 2 weeks so I'm hoping I'll have more exciting news at that point.

Prego update

I am 34 weeks this week and feeling pretty gross. I spent most of last week on the couch because I have been getting nausea and pretty constant, uncomfortable contractions every time I get up and try to do anything. I'm feeling a bit better today but still want to take it easy at least a couple more weeks to make sure he gets as much time in there as possible before he comes out. Once you hit 34 weeks they generally won't try and stop labor but it's still considered premature if you have him before 37 weeks. In other pregnancy news, baby boy (who obviously still has no name) is about 5 pounds this week. He is a constant mover and is getting so big it makes me queasy sometimes when he's moving around. He'll gain about 1/2 pound a week from this point on so if he makes it to his due date he could easily be 8 or more pounds like Logan was. He gets the hiccoughs a lot and the kids think it's so funny to feel him moving around in there. I got the linea negra a few weeks ago (it's a brown line that goes across the stomach vertically during pregnancy caused by the hormones I think) but it's a lot more faint than it was with my other pregnancies. It's only dark on my belly button and I've got brown spots on my chest and face that I never got with the other kids. I'm craving high protein, filling foods like meatloaf and steak. I eat all the time but I feel like I'm constantly hungry no matter what I eat. I had a freakily vivid pregnancy dream the other night where I was sitting on a couch and talking to my mom. The baby kicked his foot out so hard that you could see the outline of every toe so I lifted up my shirt to get a better look and realized his whole leg was sticking out. I pulled on his leg and he came right out. He had light brown hair about Brin's color, a more square shaped face than my other kids, and dark brown eyes with long dark brown lashes. It was a really freaky dream but it made me wonder what this guy will look like. My mom and two of my siblings have brown eyes so he probably could end up with brown eyes. I can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like! 33 weeks down and 6 to go!

32 weeks

I had a quick checkup yesterday and everything is looking good. I'm measuring right at 32 weeks and he's already head down and ready to go. I gave my notice to the parents of the daycare kids last Friday to let them know I won't be watching the kids after the baby gets here. I had planned on watching them until the last week of July but they've already found a new spot for them so it looks like I'll be done on the 13th. This is kind of a scary change for us but I know this is the right decision for our family and I can't wait to get to be a real stay at home mom full time. I guess we'll see how it goes!

ZOO

I think I must be crazy because after having a fun night with uncle Josh and taking him to the airport on Saturday morning I decided to take the kids to the zoo. By myself. In 100+ degree weather. At 8 months pregnant. It was fun but definitely won't be happening again until after the summer is over and the baby is here. We just did the little farm loop and up to the splash pad but even that was enough to make me swell up all weekend. Here are my favorite pics...