Shillig 4 Family

THANKS TO DADDY! When we got up today Jake was ready to have family time. We went to the park, fed the ducks, and played, put the license plates on the sequoia, took naps, ate lunch, went to the pool, shopped for groceries, watched some TV, and now are getting ourselves in bed. I love that Jake has next week off too! I am really getting a nice break having him home to help out. I did have a scare earlier this week with some abnormal abdominal pain but after a trip to the ER all is well and I am feeling better.

It may have been the most stressful picture taking session yet but I'm glad we got a picture of the 5 of us! (and once again only spent $10)

Jake: doing well on very little sleep (I think he is getting the least out of all of us) Caroline: waking up during the night to feed Malachi even though he is still asleep and has no interest in eating and getting naps during the day thanks to Jake Aimi Lark: a night owl and Jake has taken her to town on numerous occasions to wear her out...they are at the Keetons tonight at 10pm and the other night he took her to Wal-Mart and let her ride their tricycles Mali Su: cranky and ready for bed at 6pm as usual. This picture is from the other night when Jake got her out of bed really late because she seems to be having a hard time with 4 incoming teeth. She got some alone time with mama and daddy in their bed and she soaked it up! Malachi: has slept through the night 2 nights in a row now...if he keeps this up he will be sleeping through the night at 1.5 weeks!

Today is my "official" due date with Malachi. I am so glad he decided to come a week and a half early! I have loved having him in my arms more than in my belly. It is so fun to hold him and cuddle him. Last night I just kept telling Jake how much I loved him. I told Jake how different of an experience this is for me to have a BOY. I am loving it! Jake said "you did always want to have boys" and this is true because I grew up with brothers and LOVED it! I always thought I would have no idea what to do with girls but they are so wonderful to have! I do think that I will be easier on our boy(s) and Jake will be easier on our girls though. As I held Malachi last night I thought of him the way I think of Jake and that is that he needs me to take care of him and it just made me so happy to take care of him always. I feel so blessed to have the life I have... 1 loving husband 3 beautiful children 5+ years of marriage

Thoughts from Dad: I was sitting on the couch with Mali Su the other day teaching her how to use the Tupperware Shapo Ball that my mom got for us, and was amazed at how quickly she figured it out. Now I would give her a shape like a triangle and rotate the ball to present the appropriate triangle hole and Mali Su would rotate the shape and easily put it through the whole. I realized as I watched her playing with the Shapo Ball that she is really good at that kind of visual problem solving. I'm really enjoying watching her grow up.

Thoughts from Dad: Aimi Lark was helping mommy the other day by bringing Caroline's water bottle to me in the kitchen to fill it up with water. While she was in the kitchen waiting for me to fill up the bottle her Aunt Kaylene asked her if she wanted some cheese, well even though Aimi Lark loves cheese she said, "No, bring mommy water." I was so impressed with her ability to focus on one task and see it through to completion. I handed her the full water bottle and she took it back to mommy like the perfect daughter she is. I am so proud of her.

In thirty minutes Malachi will be officially ONE WEEK OLD! He is developing so fast and I love noticing all the small things he does. -He doesn't like to be swaddled, he prefers to sleep lightly wrapped with his hand(s) by his face. -He loves to nap/sleep on our bed (I think because it is so soft). -He is very handsome. -He has very peely skin. -His limbs seem extra long. -We think he has his mother's extra large big toe. -He isn't interested in pacifiers, only mama. -He likes for daddy to walk around holding him. -He has warmed up to his car seat (he hated it the first two times). -His hair is SUPER SOFT.

-Free carwash -Lunch -Malachi and I nap (Jake sweetly makes sure we get to do this everyday) -Jake takes the girls to town with him -Trip to Thanksgiving Point's dinosaur museum with Nate, Ashley, & Madilyn (Aimi Lark saw these girls posing in front of the shark and after they walked off she walked over and started posing for me to take her picture! such a cute girl!) -Dinner at the Keetons -From our family to yours...Thank you to all those who serve their country in all branches of the armed forces.

consisted of... M&Ms for breakfast Pizza for dinner Kite flying at the park We were one happy family!

and last day with Grammie Lark in town. Aimi Lark got to go shopping with Grammie , Aunt Larkie , and Carol. I love that she was able to go to town with them like a big girl. I stayed here relaxing and napping while Jake loved on and took care of Malachi and Mali Su . That evening we all went to dinner but not before spending a minute with Audrey who stopped by on her way to go camping in St. George. It was nice to celebrate with everyone one last time before Lark flew out.

Thursday was our first full day home from the hospital. We came home late Wednesday night and went right to sleep. Malachi wanted to be eating non-stop the first two days of his life. He wore me out. Thursday was a bit of a blur for me. I remember the girls coming in excited to see Malachi and us because we had been gone for what I'm sure seemed like forever to a 2 and 1 year old. Grammie Lark, Aunt Kaylene, and Aunt Larkie were big helps during the day on Thursday. Jake also took on many tasks while I rested. He took Aimi Lark to the pool and he said she did GREAT! She jumped in, learned to pull herself along the sides of the pool, and swimming underwater on the shallow steps. After they went swimming Malachi helped Jake study for his MANY spanish tests he has next week.

I cannot sleep (because the bed is uncomfortable and I am too hot) and the boys are asleep so I figured I'd give a little blog update. Birth story in a nutshell: I started having contractions around 2AM on May 19th and at about 5AM when Jake's alarms went off for work they were pretty regular and intense. Jake called in and took the rest of the week off work. He packed us a hospital bag of things we would need while I showered and got ready just in case. At 10AM we went and took my maternity picture, went to the doctor, back to the mall for lunch/walking/pick up picture. We then went home where the girls napped and I napped thanks to some intense contractions. After my nap the contractions had slowed so we went to Costco to walk around and pick up a few things. At about 5pm the contractions hadn't gotten necessarily closer together but they were rough and since I was 3cm dilated at my appt at 10AM and had been contracting all day I figured something had to have happen...