Kissin' Cousins and other fun times

Seven of my parentals TEN grandkids...whoa!
From our Monday visit...
Totally out of order but so stinkin' fat and happy! Mel's in baby heaven! Checkin' out Nora

I am not quite sure what happened to the order of my pix but that is not the order in which I downloaded them. O well. Ethan, Melanie, Molly and I went up to the hospital to see Beck, Scott and Nora yesterday...I put my keys and phone in the diaper bag pocket and then absentmindedly took out my diaper clutch, thinking I didn't need the diaper bag that way. Duh! Then slam, there went the sliding door as I realized I had just closed the van door with my keys inside, tucked away so nice and safe in my adorable diaper bag. ha ha. I am such a ditz and was still going on some incomplete sleep from the day before! anyway, we had a nice visit, longer than I expected since my dearheart of a mother had to drive Will and Levi (whom she was watching for me while we made our trip), run down to my house (she lives a good 20 minutes plus from me), and then proceed to run the extra keys up to me in the downtown Indpls area at Methodist Hosp. duh. Thanks again, Momma. You da bomb. Sorry for being so absent-minded! Beck and fam are home safe and sound tonight, tucked away safely with their TWO daughters. seems strange to me. I know it does to her! Nora is just a tiny, little Peanut of a thing. You can do it, Beck!! You'll get used to it eventually.

Ok, well this cat is off to beddy bye but I will try to get back on here asap with some more always interesting, never dull news from the homefront. ha ha. dork. Love and peace.

More from Nora's arrival...

Hello World! Check out my clear eyes!
The new Baby Kitty.
Nora and her proud daddy!
Tiny Nora and her Momma!
Gramma and Molly checking out the activity!
Molly is so huge now! she could totally take
Nora in a wrestling match, don'tcha think??

Here are a few more shots from the late night/early morning arrival of our new Miss Nora! She definitely looks like her daddy so far! She has light hair and is long and thin like Piper was.

Today has been a nice, lazy day, catching up on my sleep, since I was up all Sat. night also, thinking Beck would have her baby then! Molly and I have just laid around and slept but I still feel like I've been hit by a train!!

Off to make some sup for my noisy kiddos! Hope y'all are doing well! Peace

Meet Miss Nora Jean!!

My sister continues to look beautiful, even 10 minutes
after pushing a baby out!!
Nora compared to her daddy's hands...tiny girl!!
Lil Peanut
5 lbs. 12 oz...just a tiny little squirt! she was not thrilled!
The sisters meet!

Well, folks, the moment we've all been waiting for....

Nora Jean C. gracefully entered the world at

3:55 a.m. August 26, 2007, weighing in at a demure

5 pounds, 12.6 ounces, 20 inches long. She is so

tiny and long but was very alert and she has the

cutest little kitty cat cry!! Way to go, Beck and Scott!

Becky had been in labor from 1 a.m. Saturday or so.

Went into the hospital at around 3 or 4 a.m. and was

dilated to 3.5 cm. They sent her home, she proceeded

with her day as planned, napping, contracting and

walking when she could and should, even attending

her sis-in-law's surprise birthday party. I got the call

at nearly 1 a.m. on Sun. morning that they were

heading back into the hospital and this time, B.

didn't sound so perky...Mom, Molly and I got the call

to head in. At 2:30 a.m. or so, Beck got her epidural

(You go girl!!) and dilated all the way to 10 in this time.

Funny thing is, her real ob/gyn was out of town so

the on call doc, a nice dude, said she could push when

she was ready. Four (or less) good, hearty pushes later, and out

she slithered...in all her tiny, gooey glory! She is nursing well

and everything is where it needs to be. She is adorable!! She also

has the tiniest butt on earth, and we just aren't sure where she

got this butt of hers!

My mom and Molly got to stay in the room for the delivery,

which was awesome, even though B. was told she could only

have 2 in with her.

I guess the Labor and Delivery dept. is a little more relaxed

in the wee hours of the morning. It was so cool that Molly

got to be in the room to welcome her new "baby" cousin.

She will always be able to tell Nora that she is older than her

but knowing my sister's kids, Nora will be bossing Molly

around and Molly will let her (and then proceed to write "Nora

is mean" in her notebook. funny story accompanies this, ask

me or B. sometime)

O yeah, Pipes got there right before I left for the "first meeting".

Mom, Molly and I left right before 6 a.m. Nora was getting

cleaned up by the nurse and she let out a few strong,

not so quiet cries!! She does NOT like to have her feet

touched or to have her pic taken!! We are so glad you

made it safely, little peanut! Now to fatten you up a bit!!

Thanks to any and all of you that prayed for my sister

and her family!! Her delivery was incredible and I am

blessed to have been a leg holder!! doesn't get much

better than that! I Love You, Becky!! Good work!

I have more pix to post but I'm zonked, Molly needs

to eat and I may try to sleep!! har har. We will be

right back.

Adorable, simply adorable!

And it's a good thing too! I got this onesie for Molly when I found out we would be having a girl and just found it last night...it's almost toooooo small for my baby's chubby goodness but at least we got one photo op out of it. I wish you guys could see her in person...when she smiles at ya, her little eyes light up. My dad has always said my kids talk with their eyes and it's so true. Her little eyelashes curl up and her mouth opens wide...you could almost eat her it's so yummy! She is a dollbaby and a little blessing.

Ok, just wanted to post these pix, have a super duper day!

The much anticipated group photo etc.

Whatta crew!

yes, these need to be cropped! I'll do better next time
E., the proud big bro
Mr. Big Hair and his tiny sister
Levi loves to participate...she looks ready to sock him!
Beautiful girls!!

I just thought about it, but really, Molly and Melanie will be ever so protected with all of these brothers around.

Can you believe I actually got a few pix of all five kiddos together? I couldn't believe it...they didn't turn out so great but I will get some more, I wanted to do some outdoor ones but at this stage, we gotta take pix of her when we have a window of happiness. And it's a pretty small window yet. I love the individual pix of Molly with each sib...they continue to be so amazing with her...Mel is an invaluable help to me. My kids rock!

On a different note, we went to see Beck tonight, she is STILL pregnant!! she still looks good too..I bet she will have this kid on Thursday! just a hunch. Hope it works out for you, sis.

Hope you all enjoy the pix! I LOOOOOOOOVE doing this stinkin' blog! (nerd)

Just a few more weekend highlights...

Swimmin' with Grandpa
Pa and his buddy
Here is Charmaine and Ryan from the previous
post...Molly loves you and says you should
have another baby! :) ;)

Just love this chubba face!!

I had just a few more pix that I wanted on this blog from our past weekend. My dad and mom took Levi to their place with them for a bit this past Friday, so he could have some time away from this brood...(hey, when do I get my away time??? anybody??)...and Dad brought him back later that afternoon and swam with all of us!!

Charmaine and Ryan are in pic #3...they are fellow homeschoolers and cool folks to hang with. Thanks for the Jimmy John's sandwich platter to go with all of our goodies. We had a really good time with y'all.

Ok, well, I FINALLY got some pix of ALL 5 OF MY KIDS tonight so I am going to post those next but Miss Molly Moo Moo is crying so I will get those pix on here asap.

Love and peace out.

Some recent Molly shots...

Pretty girl
chubby goodness
L to R: Mel, Amy, Laurie, Molly and Carla

Here are a few recent pix of Miss Molly...The top pic is from Sat. night, chilling with our friends, Charmaine, Ryan and their kids at a local winery. Charmaine, thanks for hanging with my girl...it WAS a nice little break! You are so good with her and may I encourage you to give birth one more time (sorry Ryan)...I'll post Charmaine's pic with Molly when I receive her permish. Photo #2 is from yesterday, after church...she was so cute sleeping on her chubby little belly. #3 is one I couldn't resist..she had a little tank outfit on and the rolls on her arms and back were irresistible...I had to chew on them, I mean, take a pic of her sleeping that way. Pic #4 is of our last visit to the Nurse Midwives...aww, kinda sad that that part of my life (childbearing, that is) is closing...Amy was Carla's assistant at Molly's birth and they were the faces that frantically greeted me 6 weeks ago this very day, when I nearly delivered in their parking lot (and on 465, and on 37, and on 38th St. etc). They were great and I am thankful for being able to experience my last birth with them! Thank you Ladies! I'm going to miss you! :( :( :(

I have a few other weekend shots that I wanted to post but since my computer is DIAL UP (Yes, you heard me...we are 5 years behind everyone else down here in billy land)...I could only upload a few pix tonight, for I am a tired girl. I will post some more on Tuesday and work toward that mystery shot that I have been trying almost 6 weeks to get, the 5 Young children all together, in one picture.

And, for those of you who are wondering, my poor sister went to her ob/gyn today and was only dilated to 1.5 cm, for which her doc said that she wouldn't plan an induction till she was at least 2 cm. Needless to say, Beck is a frustrated, tired and hanging in there momma! Pray for her if you could...(but she still looks beautiful!!). You will be the first to know, RIGHT HERE ON THIS BLOG when Baby C. arrives.

O yeah, and finally, at my appt. today, I weighed Molly and she was ELEVEN pounds, TEN ounces...you heard me...and that was only with a lightweight little sundress on...ELEVEN lbs. Ten oz!! Pork-a-licious! She ROOOOOOOOCKS! She is irresistible!! She is up over 4 pounds from her birth 6 weeks ago. Ok, the rambling queen is signing out...hope you all are well...leave me a comment, would ya? (thanks Kara, for all of your comments...love ya)

Ethan's new 'do

I know you must be thinking that this post is a repeat but it isn't. I broke down and had E. get his hair cut today. His hair is just so different from Will's. Will's is thick but fine like mine so he can pull off the longer look. E. has thick and very coarse hair like his dad and instead of looking all flowy like, it's super duper thick and poofy...kinda like Bobby Brady. so, much to his chagrin, he got it all cut off today and man, he just looks really good with his hair shorter. I'm sure one day, when he's older, taller, whatever, that he can pull off hippy hair. E., you are one striking dude!! We love your new 'do!

Another quiet day...etc.

Tiny's getting so brave!
Our nearly 13-year old...Will
Miss Melanie
Crazy hair Ethan
Good Golly Miss Molly

Well, here they all are...though not in group form yet. They never seem to be dressed appropriately all at the same time. We ran a couple of errands tonight and Molly threw up all over herself...then at the store, she fussed and cried cuz I forgot my sling (which she loves). She needs to get past this fussy in the evening period in her life. I still love her though. :)
Happy Birthday to my younger brother Andrew today!! Hats off, ol' boy!! Wish you all were here so we could celebrate with you! Here's to 32 years of YOU!!
August 16th, 2007 is the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death...(I was a huge Elvis fan in high school...) R.I.P. Elvis Aaron Presley. Ya old Hunka Burnin' Love.
Ok, sorry, I'm tired tonight. Signing out. busy day tomorrow with teeth cleanings and another day in our household. Craaaaazy. Love and peace.

Ha ha ha..

spread those toes out, girl!

Check out Molly's sweet, uncellulitish thighs...Beck took this pic but unless you are with M. in person, you can't imagine how sweet her little legs are! She sticks them straight out when she is nursing and they are actually quite strong. She really is quite a chunk! and that's a good thing. for her. my voracious nursing appetite is another story entirely.

The bottom pic...o sorry B....but I had to post this to show our blogging friends just the lengths you will go to, to make my kids, your kids, laugh. And it works. (look, Molly is enraptured) So keep at it girl. You make me laugh all the time! show this to your friends at work. Hi Christy, Hi Wendy...Isn't Becky a pretty girl? even when goofin' around, she's a beauty. Ok, I'm officially done harassing you with pix on my blog. For now. Now go have your baby!

On a side note, Kara, where-a u been? Good day all!

Some more sisterly love...

1993...my wedding
2003...Fazoli's...aw, she's so dark compared
to my pasty white self...
Talk about some Sun-In hair...my senior
pic from 1991...I wanted my "thissy" in it...
I'm getting all choked up looking at these pix. And there's no particular reason that I am posting about my sis and I...shoot, she hasn't even had her kid yet (poor thing) but it's just fun to reminisce and look back at all the bad hair but good memories. Dontcha love her big specs in the wedding pic?? My stylish, beautiful no matter what sis with great big ol' owl glasses? yeah, they were in back in 93. And she was hot! good times, good times. This is to make you giggle today, Beck. And maybe this will help you to dilate past a fingertip. Hope our girls have the kinda relationship that you and I have been blessed to have. I coulda killed ya when we were kids (slob, copy cat, "unswearer") but I'd surely be lost without you. (you can weep now...yes, I mean it too, dang these hormones...) Love you! Hope your day is wonderful!

Wonder Woman! Watch out!

I don't know if any of you remember the 1970's show Wonder Woman (I'm totally dating myself, yes, I'm old, 34 to be exact)...but as a kid (I'm 4 in this pic I think), I thought I was Lynda Carter/Wonder Woman! My friend, Heather, inspired me to put some "older" pix up on my blog...so here's the first of many. sorry. I was not an attractive child. And my family probably mocked me when I would do this WW pose ("Look, chubby little Laurie thinks she's a super hero again...")...my head looks large (It's got it's own weather system...it's like Sputnik...)and my terry cloth suit is unflattering. Ok, well, I'm off to run some errands so I can get back home to swim and take a group photo of all of my kids. Hope you all are having a blessed day.

Check this out...

J bizzle aka John B
E...talented young man
He's ok everyone, he just looks like
he's hurt himself...(remember, he
IS old..) love you, D

Ok, so my normal blog pals are probably wondering what all of these pix mean...and I will explain right now...
The top pic is typical Levi. He is scared to death of our smoke alarms, calls them "beep beep". We had our friends, John and Wendy, over on Fri. night (I think I posted that already, sorry) and D. wanted to see if Levi would still be as scared of the sounding alarm and to show John our funny little guy. Levi would NOT take his hands down off of his ears so D. gave him his work earphones. He fell asleep on our couch with them on and his little dollar clutched in his chewed up little hand. He is so very sensitive to sound still. Hmmm. Then I just needed to post that he got some Molly love also!! he surely loves his little sis.
The disturbing images you are viewing of David, E. and John touching their noses with their tongues are just to show you all the pure talent that drips from my home. We apparently need to get out more if this is our Friday night fun!! No, really, we don't need a big screen TV, clubs, drinks or wild parties to have an enjoyable evening. No siree...we have raw fun!! RAW!! C'mon down, y'all...you are missin' out!

On a different note, my cousin Dawn had her second daughter last night...Welcome to this crazy world, little Miss Taylor !! I will get some pix up as soon as I get some (hint, hint...I know you are still in the hospital and that I have yet to actually send some of Molly to YOU but c'mon...gotta blog here...)
Ok, well, I have a lot to do today...tonight begins our start back into our homeschool clubs, as I have an Early Modern History club meeting...yoo hoo. It should be fun..I just don't know if I'm ready for all this committment again. Hangin' by a thread here!
I'll be back later!!

Awww Molly

These pix are from Fri. and Sat. and I had to post them before they got lost in the shuffle of life. We had a little photo shoot yesterday and she cooperated for a bit. She has a little case of infant acne going on right now. Then Aunt Beck and Miss P came down to swim today and Beck has always known how to make my kids smile...with all of her crazy "aunt" sounds and googles...Molly decided that it was worthy of a cutie patootie smile!! She is wearing her little onesie that B. got her that says I'm the little Sister. Molly has been pretty disagreeable today...it's really a good thing that she is cute!! :):) ( I say that with all love and devotion, ya know).
Obviously, my sis has NOT had her baby yet...but I will be posting on here as soon as she does with all the details and pix! Hang in there, kid! Enjoy those grinding bones!!
Well, little Miss Chubalicious is sleeping for the moment so off I go to eat something and lay down. This infant watch is wearing me out and I am so exhausted come evening time. I love her but I had forgotten how much work these little folks truly are! :) Love you kids!
Um, ok, well guess I'm outta here for tonight but I have more posts in my head and a really cute one on Levi that I want to post but will do it tomorrow. Also, we had our friends John and Wendy over last night and he and E. were showing all of us how they could touch their noses with their tongues so I will post that with the Levi pix...classic moments in the Y household.
Peace out and word to your mother....