2 WEEKS!!

Well, it's been two weeks! Honestly, it feels longer :) but it's crazy that my little boy is already 2 weeks old!

I stopped taking my pain killers this week (so that I can drive legally) so everything was a little more...well...painful :) Then everyone got sick, and I got sick, so it was a very FULL week :)- good, but full :)

On Wednesday I was able to take a shower while the kids were awake! If you're a mom you know what a great accomplishment that is-- I had to turn on a movie for the boys (please don't think less of me) and the girls willingly came to the rescue when Noah started crying, but I got a shower, and it felt REALLY good :) Probably won't happen too often (showering while the kids are awake, not just showering :)), but it was pretty amazing that the house didn't burn down and everyone was in one piece when I got out. I never would have thought that was possible with 5 kids!!

Noah's biggest accomplishment this week was having his umbilical cord stump fall off!! That's always fun cuz it means BATHTIME! I love the first bath and always have to get a picture. I took this first one myself, one-handed, but then handed the camera over to Charity (Daddy was at work and since Noah was scheduled to go in for his circ that same day, I had to do the bath without Nate). Charity did pretty good though, I must say :)

Noah seemed to like the bath for the most part. He's SO CUTE!


What a cutie!


We went in for his 2 week appt. he had gained 7 ounces already from his birth weight! This is always exciting news for me since we've had problems with that in the past! But he's a strong growin' boy! AND SO CUTE- we just love him :)

Charity the Camera Girl

After the bath Charity had a little fun...


Here's our backyard- I have actually been meaning to take this picture myself :)


I think she's actually pretty good :)


Noah's bath from Charity's point of view.

Just Bumming Around

Here's Luke and his cute cousin sitting on the little stump chairs. They just looked so cute, I couldn't help it--- Paulette's right, I do take pictures of everything ;)



Noah looks like he's sick of the Paparazzi already! Bradley LOVES to hold baby Noah. This is the new cool thing to do around our house--Noah's pretty popular.


I just thought Charity looked cute talking on the phone-- I really can't believe how much this girl has grown, and how FAST!! She seems so old!

Hanging out in Bountiful

We went up to Bountiful on Saturday. The kids played chess with Grandpa the whole time we were there (well, most of the time- I'm not really sure what they did while I was sleeping- but I did enjoy sleeping :)) Charity's funny- she calls it "Chest"-- Looks like she still doesn't know quite how to play yet though, since Grandpa is winning :)


Ya gotta love Nana holding the new baby! It's so fun to show a new baby to Nana. She held him the ENTIRE time she was there. (hence the nap I took :)) I'm sure she'll want to kill me when she sees that I got a picture of her...AND put it on my blog :) Love ya, Nana!


We went to my Grandparents house to see my Grandma. She was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer but also had a tumor that has been growing in her body for quite some time now. After many surgeries and tests and treatments, she has decided not to do the treatments anymore and is just going to enjoy her last days NOT on chemo and radiation. The doctors don't think she has much time left. It's so heartbreaking for me to see my grandma the way that she is right now. She really didn't look like herself at all. I didn't even want to take a picture of her when she was holding Noah. But that was actually what I wanted to write about- it was THE NEATEST experience watching her hold my baby. Two people so close to the veil so close to each other. She was falling asleep about every two minutes then waking up while she held him in her arms and we wondered if she even knew she was holding him, but as soon as I tried to pick him up to go- she put her hand under his head, showing us that she knew and that she enjoyed holding him. So I took him and let Grandpa and my mom hold him, and then when I went to hug Grandma goodbye- she reached up and grabbed Noah and pulled him back to her lap so that she could hold him some more. It was SO SWEET!! SO SPECIAL to me. It's crazy because through all of these last couple of months when we knew she was not going to be here too much longer I kept hoping she would at least be able to see my baby before she left- when really I knew that no matter what happened she WOULD SEE HIM. It was really neat though to be able to watch her hold him. She is such a special person to me and I look up to her so much. I hope to someday be like her. Anyway- what a neat experience that was to be able to see and feel their Spirits together- something I will never forget.


what a little old man :)

1 week already!!

It was Noah's one week birthday yesterday :) so we made cupcakes to celebrate it for him :) He thought it was pretty rude of me to put a cupcake in front of him and not let him even lick the frosting- poor deprived little boy :) (and Natalie, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're making really good use of the couch you gave us :) so thank you!!)


Charity led everyone in singing "Happy Birthday" to him- kinda funny.

So I really can't believe how well this week has gone! Feels a lot longer than a week, but it REALLY went well. I keep thinking about when I had the other kids and how hard it was to adjust, but for some reason this time it hasn't been that difficult. I thought I was going to die trying to do things without Nate around, but we've really had a nice relaxing, really low-key week. It's been a huge blessing. I don't doubt that Heavenly Father has helped me with it all- I know I didn't do it on my own.
Noah is an absolute angel! He is so peaceful, and so easy-going. He only cries when he needs to eat, and other than that he sleeps! It's been really really fun to have him. The kids all love him and are really careful with him- it's just amazing!! I gotta give my kids credit for how well they are doing! I am so grateful for everyone's help. Our ward that we've only been to twice has even stepped up and brought in meals for us- they're all so nice and friendly- it's been really great! I just loved this week!

The Ballerina Show

Charity and Kelly "worked on their show" ALL day!! I couldn't believe how much time they devoted to practicing their dances and their "parts". Totally took me back...remind you of anything Heidi? :)


Don't look at how messy the room is- it was clean that morning- I PROMISE!


They were so funny, just dancing around like crazy singing songs that they would make up as they went along. The cute thing was the words to their songs-- talking about how they love their family, they're the best, they're gonna be so good-- sounded like something I would have written to brain wash them or something :) It was way cute though! Girls are so fun!


Charity has gotten really good at her handstands! All on her own too- I can't wait until we can get her back into a dance class. Kelly too- they would love it.



The End :)

Havin' Fun!

Bradley and Luke wanted pictures of them goofing off :) They love the camera now :)

Kelly loves it when I put these on here :)

Kelly got to use the camera....


Here's her paperdolls :)


and her back pack....
she had some more of the plastic bag next to it, and some of my bed sheets, but I thought these were enough :)

Noah is SO loved :)

Kelly holds him EVERY chance she gets :) She's still learning to NOT pick him up on her own and switch positions and stuff without mommy's help. But Noah seems to like her :)


I just thought this looked funny. He's just lounging on mommy's lap, looks like he's whistling or something in this one :)


Even Lukey can't get enough of him.


Brad too :) We're just happy that everyone is adapting to the new baby so well, and that they love him so much!


This was cute- we laid Noah down on the floor on a blanket while everyone was eating dinner (we thought he could use a minute to himself :)), and not even two seconds after we laid him down- the kids had rounded up all the baby toys and laid them by him so that he would have something to play with :) SO CUTE!! They're being so thoughtful of him lately :) This Mom can't get enough of it :)

Skipped Pictures

These pictures were taken the few days before Noah was born- I must have missed them, but I thought they were fun.
This is Luke taking his first nap in the big boy bed. He totally does fine in there even with Brad at night- I was surprised- I thought for sure this would take some getting used to, but apparently he was ready for it. He's such a good boy.


This is Nate pushing the kids down the snow hill on the tubes. It was fun to watch them, he started out with just our kids, and ended up with 7 by the time they were done. This is our backyard :) how fun is that! I took these pictures from our kitchen :)

Welcome, Noah Cole Maynes!!

Not the most flattering picture, but I think these are always cool.


once again, not so flattering, but I love the pictures of the first few moments.


awww!! What a handsome little guy!!




So we went in on Friday, January 11th, just as planned and brought our sweet little baby boy into the world. The C-section went pretty well. They did have to do 2 epideurals because the first one didn't quite take, but all in all it went really well. I usually have a hard time getting my uterus to contract right after they take the baby out, and I usually end up losing lots and lots of blood to the point of almost needing a transfusion, but this time my uterus did what it was supposed to and the bleeding was very minimal. So that was great! And thanks to ALL of our visitors the 3 days in the hospital just flew by!!! Thanks so much everyone that was able to come by- we enjoyed your company!!

Noah is a very healthy little boy. He has been drinking his mommy-moo-juice really well, so that's been a relief. He even got his bilirubin numbers down pretty quickly without much trouble. We're thrilled to have been so blessed with a healthy baby and a nice delivery. He's such a cute little guy.
He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long.

Noah meets his family

The girls still can't get enough of him :)

Baby Noah

While Charity was with her Aunt Nancy, she made a little hat for her new little brother- she said it was his "birth-day present" :) We were all really impressed with how well she did on it. Doesn't he look so dashing!



I think he is SO CUTE when his eyes are open! He looks like his Daddy!



Time to go home!