We had a great 4th of July Holiday! We left Thursday night for Idaho. We spent the night in Burley and then Friday went to Kimberly. The boys got to play with Ryan, Alex and Nick all day long. That night we had a BBQ with the Andrew Family. It was so nice to see everyone! Saturday we spent with the Crumps. Before everyone got dirty we took some pictures. I wanted one of the boys with Bailee. The top picture shows part of the process. I asked Hayden to put his head on Zach's shoulder. He took it very literally!

Cousins

A few new cousins were added to the Andrew and Crump Families. The top picture is Ryan Evan Crump (Thad & Brigitte), Bradley Granger Crump(Marc & Amanda), and Bailee Lynn Andrew (Molly & Brian), The bottom picture is AJ O'Dell (Krista & Shawn) & Bailee Andrew.

2 weeks old!

How can 2 weeks pass so quickly? Miss Bailee has been with us for such a short amount of time and I can't imagine life without her. She is such a good baby. Her brothers are still lining up to hold her and just can't get enough of her.

My new favorite veggie!

So, it turns out that cabbage is good for lots of things. This has to do with breastfeeding so if you don't want to know why I like it, stop reading.... now.

Since I am bottle feeding and not nursing Bailee, this experience is a little different. I am a great producer of milk, unfortunately, it's not going anywhere. The word is engorement. I told you to stop reading. I read online that cabbage leaves would help relieve this state. I really didn't think it was possible -- cabbage? Last night Dr. Doyle stopped in and I asked him what worked. Cabbage leaves was the answer. Uh, well if a doctor said it, I'm going to give it a try. I have been taking 800 mg of ibuprofen twice a day and that doesn't come close to the relief of cabbage leaves. They also have the effect of drying up the milk supply if left on for a long amount of time. I did learn to apply fresh leaves, making saurkraut is not the objective. After a painful week, I think things are getting better. YES!

A week ago today...

Where does the time go? I have been sitting here thinking of what was happening last Wednesday about this time. Bailee will be 1 week old in 3 minutes. Wow! At this time last week I was hoping at some point the epidural would kick in... waiting... waiting... waiting... it never did. A week later though, that memory of the pain to get Bailee here is gone, and I would do it again. She is such a blessing.
It's been a week since I have spent any time at all with my boys. I really am beginning to miss them. I know they are having a blast with Grandma Andrew and their cousins!

Thanks to Grandma Andrew, I am having a little break. The boys went to Idaho to have fun with Grandma & Grandpa. They also get to go see their cousins in Nampa. I'm sure they are having a great time! This is what my days are full of -- feeding Bailee, changing a few diapers and watching her sleep. It's rough... I'm loving every minute. Brian and I are a little bored without the boys but we are managing...

Pretty in Pink

So in the beginning, I was not a fan of pink. I was waiting to like it until I KNEW I had a little girl. After 3 boys it was almost too much to ask for! Isn't pink a delightfully pretty color for such a

pretty, pretty girl?

Happy Grandmas & Proud Grandpas

Bailee has some pretty proud grandparents! Grandma Andrew is so excited to have another Andrew with a bow! Thanks so much for driving down to see us! We really appreciated the visit.

Here's a few pictures of Bailee and the boys and one really proud dad. Logan, Zac and Hayden just love her and took turns last night holding her. It was so fun. As soon as Hayden saw her he said, "Oh, she's cuter that Gretal!" Just so you know, he tells Gretal she is cute everyday so that is quite the compliment!

Bailee Lynn Andrew Is Here!

Bailee made her entrance into the world today at 12:12 PM. She is beautiful! 6 lbs 15 ounces 18 1/2 inches long. Her brothers love her and can't wait to take her home! I am feeling great and can't wait to go home. I will post pictures later!

The Baby's Room

After a fresh coat of paint and trim!

Before the work!

Brigitte, these are for you! I know after today you won't have time to be online! We have a little caulking and filling to do, then we can move in -- yes!

Crazy 9 Year Old!

I think that Zac had a pretty great birthday! It's a little hard to believe that he is 9! We sure love him and he is such a great big brother.

Smarty Pants!

Zac received one of the top academic awards in his class this year. He really has excelled. His teacher, Mrs. Gourley had a lot to do with it. She made each student shine and expected and got results. It was a great year!

Baseball 2009

Baseball started this week. It really is busy. Logan's coach has them practice once a week plus two games each week and Zac is doing the same. They really have improved over the years and it is fun to watch them play. Logan is in coach pitch and Zac is in machine pitch. Go guys!

Summer 2009

Well, summer is officially here. We just wrapped up our first week of summer vacation. It was full of swimming, baseball and lots of friends. The boys are all big enough to do chores and that has been a life saver! Zac is mowing the lawn this year and does a great job. They all have household jobs. Logan cleans a mean bathroom and Hayden is a pro at cleaning out the dishwasher! One week down --- how many to go?

Just a quick update!

This morning I put the last coat of paint on the baby's room -- walls, window trim and door trim are done. Yay! Now we can buy the baseboards and the crown molding to go on the ceiling, paint them and get them cut and put in -- Yes!
Then on to getting ready for the baby, setting up the crib, getting the clothes ready getting my bags packed. Tomorrow I have my doctor's appointment. Cross your fingers that he says we are my schedule and not a faster one!
Yesterday we also filled up the pool and the boys jumped in this morning. It was cold. They did stay in for almost an hour. Hopefully the sun will do its thing and it will get warmer as the week progresses.

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Today is Zach's birthday! He is so excited to be celebrating! Thanks for all the phone calls -- he has the best aunts and uncles! I'll post pictures of today later!

OH MY GOSH!!! 28 DAYS LEFT! I need some serious energy and a plan.

Today was the last day of school. We are in for some serious -- this is what will happen when you aren't in school -- lessons. Monday we will hit the ground running with a few chores and I think a little school so their brains don't turn to mush. It is Zach's birthday so we will have to have some fun. Nine years old. Where does the time go?

The Good News

So the good news is the carpet is almost dry. The bad news is I had to sleep in the guest room last night. We had a small flood last night in our new bedroom. Yes, water was spurting out of the nail holes in the paneling and the window well was a miniature aquarium. We -- myself, Brian and Zach -- sucked water up for almost 2 hours and then put the fans on it. This morning I rented two huge carpet fans and put them on. It really is amazing that some parts are almost dry. I just hope that as the week goes on, the new paint doesn't start peeling from the walls. What are the chances? I'm hoping 0%! I am really wanting to sleep in my bed tonight!


So, you want to know where the water came from? I will leave names out to protect the innocent. A certain individual wanted to run through the sprinkler yesterday afternoon. Another individual unhooked one section of the hose - from the secondary system- and hooked it up to the culinary so the kids could get wet. Another individual was asked to water the lawn and turned on the sprinklers -- hooked to the secondary-- but didn't realize that one of the hoses was left without a sprinkler out back next to the window well. We are just lucky that it was noticed fairly quickly and really, it could have been so much worse. I guess we have a lot of lessons to learn and we just keep standing in the "Lessons Needed" line.

The Final Project

So the final project has begun! Amy came over on Tuesday and helped me move all of my sewing stuff upstairs and clean the new guest room. I was really surprised how much dust there was -- looks like spring cleaning should take place once a year. Thanks Amy for your help! Yesterday, my friends Cheryl and Whitney came over and helped clean out the computer room, vacuum and wash walls. By ten o'clock last night the computer desk was set up in the family room, the computer hooked up and the baby's room was primed. It feels good to get everything done -- yay! Tomorrow and Friday we can paint her room and do baseboards and then move baby stuff in.

Tonight we actually spent the night in our new master bedroom. I love it. It's so cool and makes sleeping so nice. I actually closed the window because I, the pregnant one, was cold. I feel like we have so much space. Brian finished his closet last night and moved down all of his clothes. That is my project today -- sort, move and put away. Thanks to Brad & Amy for a yummy dinner last night. I can't believe how wiped out I am at the end of the day - it was really nice not to cook. Hopefully today, the guest room can get cleaned & set up and my sewing stuff can get moved upstairs. Yay! Isn't life great! Only 31 more day! Seems like so long but really isn't enough to get my list done.

Zac's Wolf Badge

Zac received is Wolf badge tonight. As you can see, he was soooooo excited. I don't know what his deal is with scouts. I hope his enthusiasm grows a little.

Hayden's Last Day of Preschool

Hayden is done with preschool for the year. He loved going to school and he had the best teachers. Miss Heidi and Miss Kylee ROCK! They did such fun things and he learned so much. Everyday when we left, we had to walk by this map of Pleasant Grove and find our house. Everyday, Hayden had to push the button to open the doors. He is so fun. Lately, he comes up to me and says, "I love you!" It is out of the blue and in the sweetest voice. I love it!

It's DONE!! Check out what we are so excited about!

This is what I learned from my brothers. Nathan, this doesn't look too bad, does it? It made a huge difference.

The vanity has a great story. The space is 47 inches. Do you know how hard it is to find a 47" vanity? My friend Cherly called one morning and told me to go measure this piece that has been sitting downstairs since it was given to us by our friends. In fact, I had already asked Melanie if she wanted it for her daughter's room. I went down and measured -- 46.5". It would fit perfectly into the space. The guy who did the counter upstairs drilled a hole in the top and suggested a vessel sink which I love! We've got to hang the mirror that matched, add 2 lights on the side, remove the top light and fix the drawer in the center. I also added new drawer pulls.
Marc, thanks for the suggestion on the coping saw. I really don't mind doing baseboards or trim at all. Thanks to Victor for showing me how to actually use it.
This is the king of toilets. Well, actually the prince. The king is upstairs -- it has the elongated bowl. We couldn't open the shower door unless we got the round bowl.
The shelf in this picture was Brian's idea. I really like it. We have room for towels and our bathroom stuff. Yeah.


So this is the room that we are most excited about. We have never had a master bathroom. With the boys getting older the competition for the bathroom upstairs has increased -- A LOT! Downstairs, we have the room formerly known as "the guest room". It is larger that our bedroom and has a bathroom. UM.... This is where the original plan began. This room was covered in brown paneling, an ugly ceiling, an even uglier vanity that was built in to the space you see and a toilet that worked when it felt like it. The room with the toilet had ugly brown cabinets attached to the wall and a really 70s floor happening. The only good thing was the shower. I had never used that shower until the tub upstairs was filled with tools and such from the ongoing project. The shower is awesome. The pressure is sooooo amazing. Anyway, one thing led to another. We were just going to paint the paneling, recase the window, paint the bathroom and put a counter on the existing vanity. Simple, less expensive and done quickly. The painting went so fast - thanks Cheryl and Whitney! The bedroom was painted and just needed baseboards. I moved onto the bathroom. In the bathroom, Brian removed the brown cupboards and I thought I would fix the holes, texture and paint. Nope! Someone had painted over wall paper. UG. I hate wallpaper. I peeled some off. Not looking good, we came up with another solution. Remove what I could, texture, paint and put up wainscoting to cover the rest. After removing the baseboards, mold was discovered which led to new sheet rock (I hate sheet rock!), taping, mud, sanding, the works. Then the toilet needed a new valve - this was popular. Our entire house now has new valves, including the main valve coming into the house - Thanks Plumb Crazy -- our favorite plumber. Anyway, after hours of putting a new ceiling in the bathroom, texture, painting, putting up wainscoting, painting baseboards, installing base boards, cutting trim for everthing, sanding, caulking, painting and so many more little things, we are almost done. Monday, we are moving downstairs. Waaaa Hoooo!!!

Upstairs bathroom

This is an almost finished upstairs bathroom. We need to order a mirror from somewhere. Home Depot doesn't stock the size we need. The vanity also needs the hardware added. It is fun to have it done. Logan is the best. He told Melanie the other day, "You need to stop by and see our new bathroom. You would be impressed!" It's fun to see the boys excited. Logan's Saturday job is cleaning the bathrooms and he had so much fun cleaning the new counter and toilet. I have to say that I have mopped and swept a lot more since we put the new floor in.

Hiking with Dad

One Sunday, the boys wanted to go on a hike. Yes, it was Sunday. Brian took them up above our house and hiked up to the waterfall. They had a great time. They love to do stuff like that. This picture is almost to the falls -- it is the "bear cave". Ya, if they only knew what a bear looked like or smelled like.

Demolition

This is the beginning of our little home remodeling project. Overall, it wasn't bad. If I hadn't of been so pregnant, it would have gone faster. These pictures are of the upstairs bathroom being torn apart and the floor being repaired. I didn't take any before pictures of the downstairs bedroom and bathroom. I wish I had, in my mind there is a huge difference. I am so happy with how everything turned out.