Early May Pics

The month of May was a blur for me...luckily I had Neil around to snap a few priceless pictures! 

BABY FINN

Finn O'Neil Krauss is the newest member to join our little family!  Here's the story- I'll try to keep it short! I was a week overdue with Finn when the doctor decided I should probably come in for an induction...I was initially hesitant because of how our experience went last time with Miles and being induced, but knew that since I was overdue my chances of things going better this go-round were higher.  The induction was scheduled for sometime Thursday the 26th, and the Labor/Delivery nurse was supposed to call us to come in as soon as they had an opening.  They told us to be ready as early as 5:00 in the morning for a phone call.  Well apparently Thursday was the day that all pregnant women in Salt Lake City decided to go into labor, so my induction was put on the back burner until they had a bed for us at the hospital.  We finally got a call at eight in the evening to come in.  By ten thirty the doctor had broken my water, and I immediately started having strong contractions.  I lasted about an hour with those then got  my epidural, which was awesome!  After that, the nurse told me to get some sleep while my body prepared for delivery...I could feel the contractions when they came, but didn't have pain.  It was amazing.   By about seven that morning I was dilated to a ten and ready to push, which took all of about 45 minutes. Finn was born weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces, and was 21 inches long.  He is the CUTEST little guy! I can't believe how much he looks like Miles did when he was born.  And I can't believe I'm a mom to two adorable little boys...it's the best thing in the world.  Miles quite likes his "Little Finn" and it's fun to see him hold and kiss him.  I just know they're gonna be great friends! 

The recovery this time has been amazing.  I can't believe how much easier it's been to get up and get around than it was with the c-section.  It's been difficult juggling two kids at home, but fun at the same time.  The hardest part has been not being able to give Miles the undivided attention he's used to getting, but for the most part he's handling things really well.  Finn has such a sweet little personality, and doesn't even get upset over things (so far!)  He's been a joy to have in our home.  Welcome to our family, Baby Finn!

The INDUCER

Some of you locals to Salt Lake City may have heard of Cafe Trio's famous pizza nicknamed "The Inducer". Well tonight I had the lovely opportunity of indulging in this baby, since tomorrow marks my 40th week of pregnancy! I feel pretty darn good, however I'm ready to get this kiddo out of me. It was LOADED, and I mean LOADED with whole cloves of garlic all over every slice. Now I love garlic, but let me tell ya, this was a little over-the-top. If eating this thing doesn't send me into labor, nothing will!

BIG BOY STUFF

My little Miles is no baby anymore. It almost feels like overnight he turned into this little boy and I really can't believe how fast the time has flown. He's had a few "Big Boy" moments these past few months, all of which he is very proud of!

He chews gum...

...transitioned from crib to BUNK BED...

...and even got new PJ's without feet (the ones the big kids wear)...

Now these may seem insignificant to you, but let me tell ya, Miles thinks these milestones are pretty darn cool- and so do I! It's funny how when you become a mom things like this are what make your day. It's really quite fun. He's going to be such a great big brother when this little guy arrives (which is any day now)!!

Annual Snowbasin Trip

A few weeks ago we went up with my family to Eden for our annual weekend ski getaway at Snowbasin/Powder Mountain. As far as the skiing went, this year was a major dud! There was absolutely no decent snow at the resorts, so everyone skied only one day at Snowbasin. Katy and I couldn't ski because of our current "conditions" so we took Miles up the chairlift and met everyone for lunch at the lodge on top. Miles LOVED it!!!

That's Neil skiing in the background...Miles thought it was pretty sweet watching everyone ski under the lift for him :)

Aunt Lessie provided Miles a beautiful play dough sculpture of me with child...she even gave him a lesson on where the baby is, and when you lifted a flap on my stomach, out popped a baby!! It was weird. Miles ate it up (figuratively, of course- not literally).

You can't have a ski trip without some good hot tubbing! Miles joined in on the fun. He was a little hesitant at first...

...but once he got in all the way, he was in heaven!

Next year's trip will be different in so many ways. It will be our first trip where we get to stay in the new cabin (which is supposed to get finished this spring), and the family will have two new additions! We also promised Miles that he could start skiing when he turns three- we'll see how that goes!

The Holidays

The Holidays were great for us this year! Miles REALLY got into the whole thing, which made it all so much fun. Here are just a few pics- yes, they're almost entirely of Miles. I now understand why people say Christmas is for the kids :)

Neil and Miles ready to deliver treats to the neighbors- Miles and I made caramel apples and I have to say I'm pretty proud of the way they turned out. TASTY!

We spent a week in Dallas with Neil's family and got to be there for Christmas. We had a couple days of great weather which we definitely took advantage of!

The kids waiting patiently to see if Santa came- they were very disappointed to see that in lieu of gifts, Santa gave all the kids journals to write down their thoughts on life. Just kidding. He came...and he came with a bang!

As rambunctious as Miles can be, he is one dainty gift opener! I'm pretty sure nothing would have been opened if nobody helped him out a bit.

I wish I could describe how much Miles loves his new backhoe loader...

Miles got some great gifts- but I have to say, so did Neil and I! Neil's parents gave us a new bread maker, which is just the BEST. I can eat an entire loaf in one sitting. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant- probably not.

Neil's sister Molly and I helped the boys make a gingerbread house. Miles ate most of his candy before it made it to the house.

When we got home from Dallas, we had our own little Christmas here at our house. It was a lot of fun and Miles was excited to see that Santa came to our place, too!

What a haul! Check out that smile :)

We then got to go out to my parents' house for yet another round of gift exchanging which was great! The big surprise that us Big Kids got was a heli-ski trip to Canada in 2013 with the whole family. I CAN'T WAIT!!

Like I said, the holidays were absolutely awesome. We did have a few mishaps along the way, like the stomach flu, which took hold of all three of us right before Dallas, and made us miss the Miles family Christmas party. Then there was a nasty cold that we all got when we returned home, and made for a pretty boring birthday for me... But all that didn't stop us from having fun- just made it so we had to have a toilet nearby during every festivity ;)

WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BOY!!

I was more than excited to find out this morning that we're having another boy! We can't wait for the little guy to get here...Miles will finally have a hoop-shooting, block-building, tractor-scooping buddy to hang out with 24/7. HOORAY!!