Friday, September 12, 2014

Summer Recap #5 Miscellaneous

I was going through my camera on my phone and found a bunch of pictures that will to finish up the rest of my summer posts. Summer is my all time favorite season. I love everything that comes with warm weather and sunshine. We were extremely busy and tons happened summer of 2014 but it was as it should be.
I made my own hospital gown to use after baby's delivery but didn't end up using until I got home from the hospital. It was nice and comfy to wear while I recovered.

Kiera attended her first Activity Days Day Camp. She loved it and even got to shoot a BB gun! She came home with these colored bandana's and decided to share with her sister. This is picture of the kids being silly after having me tie them around their heads. We didn't want to leave Ethan out.

This summer we took many walks. (mostly for me to try and get labor started) And although they weren't good for starting labor they were awesome for finding these lovelies! Blackberries grow wild around here and the best part is that they are FREE!  We made many blackberry smoothies this summer.

They were great over vanilla ice cream too!

Dan and the kids love to make and fly paper airplanes in our neighborhood's common areas. Here they are showing of their cool airplanes that daddy made for them.

Nothing beats summer gardening!

and putting the littles to work. Just like we did growing up

Saute'd scalloped squash has become one of my favorite summertime snacks. A little butter and garlic and salt and pepper...mmmm.

For FHE one night we broke out the melting chocolates and dipped pretzels. We let the kids decorate them with crushed candy canes and sprinkles.
 And there probably wasn't a day that went by that I didn't snap a picture of my baby Ellie. She is just precious! So worth the wait!





Call me crazy but not too long after Ellie was born and my help had gone home I was out and about making more work for myself. Why do I do this to myself? Oh well...
A friend of mine (Lauren Hansen) lives in a subdivision that has a park full of apple trees. I think at one point it was supposed to be a community garden but it never really took off. So now, every year there are these trees filled with apples that just end up going to waste and fall on the ground. So instead we took advantage and picked these beauties to make homemade applesauce.

Lauren getting her baby fix
Here's my big helper Emma helping me turn our apples into yummy applesauce. Look at that concentration!

This is a picture of Ellie in my blessing dress. Yes, It was blue. But since I made her a white one I had to get a picture of her in mine just for posterity sake.




Summer Recap #4 Dan's Layoff and Our Baby Girl!

July was kind of a rough month for us. We had a couple members on both sides of the family pass away. Dan's great aunt and uncle Lib and Cuz who were in their 90's both died in a car crash while going out to eat after a doctors appointment one morning. And then Norma Mitchell on Brittany's side of the family died after having seizures while being on vacation in Europe and then being in a coma for a couple months.

Dan also was laid off work at the end of July. It was very unexpected and a huge blow. We were expecting our 4th baby and didn't know what we were going to do. We just had to have faith that Heavenly Father knew best and that we would be taken care of. We didn't know why and to us the timing of the layoff seemed SO unhelpful.

We did however receive a good severance package and the company continued our health coverage until just after our baby was due. So we went forward and Dan was able to find a part time job right away that he did while looking for full-time work. He landed his new job at Absolute Manufacturing Inc. Senior Aerospace right here in Arlington, and was able to start just one month after he was laid off. We now like to look at the layoff as an unplanned paid sabbatical. In fact, it was rather nice having Dan home a bit more before the baby came. Dan's layoff in lots of ways was a huge blessing in disguise.

Dan now works just 7 mins from home. He can sleep longer in the mornings and he no longer has a 2 hour long commute home in the evenings, he is able to come home at night and still have time to do things with the family. We have dinner together, go on walks, do projects around the house, and overall have more time to spend together.  It may be a bit of a pay cut from what B/E Aerospace paid but the other benefits make it worth it.  He has all the benefits with his 401K and health and dental coverage and he is able to add new skills to his resume. He says he enjoys learning something new and the people he works with are great and seem to value what he brings to the table. In fact he was just given a project at work that he will be in charge of overseeing.

So after all the hard times we had in July we were able to turn things around and enjoy the summer after all. With the Glenn Family Reunion at Fort Steven's, visits from friends, and various family outings we also had the special event of adding a new member to our family.

Ellie Grace Glenn was born At Providence Hosptial in Everett, WA on August 15th 2014, at 6:53 P.M. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 inches long. She is beautiful!

The delivery was a bit unlike the other 3 since I didn't go into labor on my own this time. I was put on Pitocin to induce labor since she was post date and we were close to loosing/changing our health coverage due to Dan's layoff. The doctor decided it would be ok and less stressful for us to induce labor. And I am so very glad he did!

Dan and I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning and I was but on antibiotics for my Group B Strep and then we waited...I was then put on Pitocin and we waited...

At around 3:30 or so the nurse checked me and I had only dilated 1/2 cm from where I was when I came in that morning. Ugh....and so we waited...At about 6:00 the contractions from the Pitocin were a bit too much for me and I requested my epidural. Just shy of an hour later the Dr. came in and said he wanted to break my water to get things moving.

My nurse had told him not to since I was only at a 3.5 cm dilated when she checked me last and didn't think I was far enough along, but he decided it would help speed things up. As he checked me he got this surprised look on his face and turned to my nurse and said sort of accusingly, "what did you do to her."

Remember those contractions I had been having and couldn't stand anymore? Well, they had done the trick because baby was coming! The Dr.. told me not to push til he got back and I looked at him like, "where do you think you're going? The baby's coming I feel like I have to push and you're leaving?!" He just went to go get his gear on though it wasn't 3 minutes and he was back. It was time to push!

I felt sorry for my nurses though. They had been with me all day and when the exciting part came they had to switch shifts and a set of new nurses came in. It like the new nurses did hardly anything and got all the glory. Buuuut...I was happy to see that one of my new nurses was someone I knew and had just met at a Girls Night Out a couple weeks prior.

I pushed hard for about 4 pushes and Ellie Grace was here. The nurses put her on my chest and cleaned her up a bit. Since she came so fast she wasn't able to get all the fluid out of her lungs so it took a little bit to pink up. Daddy cut the cord and she was weighed and measured. I couldn't have been happier. She is beautiful! I also love how the nurses doctored up the hospital cap to have a bow in it. So cute!

The next day Grandma Shellie brought the kids to the hospital to meet their baby sister

 

 
 

No baby of mine is safe from my camera lens! A week after being home and getting settled in to life with four kids, the camera came out for Ellie's first official photo shoot. I had bought a package of cheese cloth and a few colors of RIT dye and made the wraps myself. I also got some various yardage of textured fabrics at Joanne's. I love how they turned out! The photos turned out perfect too and after posting a few of them on my facebook page I landed two jobs to do some family pictures and senior pictures for a few people this coming weekend! I am pretty excited.

But here are a few more of the pictures from my photo shoot.


Ellie Grace Glenn is named after Dan's mom Shellie ("Shellie without the sh" is how grandma taught  the kids to say it before we brought her home), and my mom Grace. Two name sakes for our beautiful little girl! We love you Ellie!


Summer Recap #3 Arlington Fly-In

One thing with being pregnant during the summer is that you don't really feel up to leaving the comfort of the air conditioner to take a walk in the hot sun very often if at all. This was one of those occasions. July 10th-12th this year was the Arlington Fly-In where airplanes come from all over. There are air shows, concessions, and chances to get up close to all sorts of aircraft. We try to go every year just for the making of traditions but this year I stayed home. Dan took the older two while Emma and I stayed home to take a nap. And instead of paying to get into the actual event they went for a walk on the trail around the airport and got some cool shots.
 

Maybe one of these years we'll pay to go on a ride on this plane, but for now we'll enjoy the view from at a distance


Summer Recap #2 Marie Comes!

Guess who came to visit!!! MY BESTIE!!!!

I had been counting down the days from the day I found out she'd be coming. Marie O'Neil who's been in Germany while her husband Charles works over there made a trip "home" to Washington (where she belongs in my opinion). The kids picked up right where they left of and so did we. Back were the days of sitting on the back deck chatting away while the kids played. Back were the days of not caring what the house looked like when visitors came over. We dropped everything and enjoyed our time together.

I will say her trip was much too short and I almost lost it again when it came time to say goodbye but I sure am glad she was able to come. I just wish baby would have decided to come a bit earlier so she had a chance to meet her. Oh well...

And I sure wish I had gotten a picture of Carley too but she was much to busy playing I guess, but WHY OH WHY didn't I get a picture of Marie and I together! I can't believe I didn't even get a phone camera "Selfie" or SOMETHING! But she WAS here and that's all that matters!


Oh and just for fun I thought I'd include my Ode to Marie. I wrote it to go in our Super Hero binders that Grandma Shellie put together at our Reunion. We were each asked to write something about someone who is our hero.

My Hero



I have a hero. She is someone who has and still is always there to talk to, even when she lives thousands of miles across the ocean. She makes me laugh and is there to listen and let me cry when I need it. She is the type of friend who is irreplaceable and one I hope to never loose.
Before she moved to Germany she and I would do so much together. Our kids are of similar ages and so we had lots in common to talk about. She was my workout buddy, and race companion and motivator. If I needed a shopping buddy at 8:30 at night she was there. If I needed a last minute babysitter she was available. When I wanted company at the park with the kids she was up for it.

She and I always made time for one another and if either one of us needed something we’d drop what we were doing and were eager to help. She is the only one who would ever stop by just for the heck of it and would end up staying for hours talking about absolutely nothing while the kids played. I love her so much and miss her like crazy and sometimes feel like another part of me is missing but I will never forget what she has been to me. And that is a true hero. 

Thank you Marie O’Neil!

Summertime recap #1 Fort Steven's Reunion

Time has flown by here at the Glenn household.! Summer was packed full and we stayed busy busy! We went on bikes rides, had bbq's, went camping, welcomed a new baby into our family, and just this past weekend Kiera was baptized and baby Ellie Grace was blessed at church. But now summer is officially over and the kids are back in school. Yippeee! I don't know who's more excited, the kids or mom? Kiera is in the 3rd grade and Ethan is in 1st grade. Emma also started preschool this year! My babies are growing up so much and I am so thankful I get to be a part of it. Motherhood really is the best!

So to catch up with all the many things we have been up to lately this is going to be another one of my photo heavy postings. Lots and lots of pictures, and a little commentary here and there. So here it goes...

Fort Steven's Glenn Family Reunion:

Kiera and Adelle rescuing Dan from the sharks during our Glenn Family Olympics games

Adelle hula hooping

spending time at the lake

Arya playing with the dandelions while everyone else plays tug-o-war

At the beach and enjoying the sunshine. Just wishing it wasn't so windy!

who says pregnant people can't hula hoop?

Dan floating on the lake but trying to keep EVERYTHING out of the water because it was too cold

spent the day at Sea Side and played on the bumper cars and tilt-a-whirl before going to Phillips candy store.





Dan trying to teach Ethan how to skim board

Dan and Kaleb at war

Dan's take on the hula hoop

Grandpa Glenn made everyone boats to decorate and float for our Cousin's Raingutter Regata races. Can you tell Emma's excited?

Emma at the beach


Emma didn't get in the water at the lake much but she loved wearing the frog float while getting her feet wet

Playing hide and seek at Battery Russel and scaring other visitors/strangers in the dark (hilarious story...Ethan and Grandma were playing the usual hide-n-seek and thought the rest of the cousins were coming and around the corner and decided to scare them, so she jumped out and screamed only to realize her victims were complete strangers) 

Ethan in the waves

Like Father, Like Son. Chillin' on the lake

skim boarding success

Florence at Battery Russel

Grandpa Glenn watching all  the action from above

Grandpa can hula hoop too!

no trip to the beach is complete without story time with Grandpa


I think Kaleb won the battle!

Kaleb and the hula hoop


All the cousins chipping in to bury Kiera in the sand



LaDean and Arya hanging out near the firepit

Luke is all smiles at the lake


Mary taking a break after a tiring game of shark attack with the parachute

Another pregnant attempt at the hula hoop. Nice work Michelle

Michelle watching the kids at the lake. Doesn't she look like she is modeling for a magazine?

Our pocket kites we had got from Grandma Tutu worked well at the beach


Go Ryan!

Michelle, Ryan and Luke

Pretty sunset with the shipwreck

Steven strutting his stuff. Love the facial expressions


This year our reunion had a "super hero" theme so I had these t-shirts made for everyone. They were a big hit and we got lots of complements on them. 



The three amigos. Kiera, Mary, and Tim

these three went on the Tilt-a-whirl last year and looked terrified the entire time but they must have enjoyed it because they wanted to do it again this year. They don't look as scared this time.


Tim and the hula hoop

Grandma's Super Hero Olympics sure were fun. From the looks on his face I think Ryan had fun too. Don't you?



Our summer reunions with the Glenn clan sure are fun. We look forward to the trip every year. Even at 8 months pregnant :)