5 Years old!

Maddie and Bella turned five on July 18th. They are getting so big. They were so excited about their Luau birthday party. We had been talking about it for months! It was great timing because my sister Sarah and nephew Andrew came out to visit us the day before their birthday. We were so excited to have them here to be with us and help us with the party too!

 

Nathan was feeling left out and wanted it to also be his birthday, so the girls were good enough to share their day with him and let him have his own little cake too.
 

 

Here I am trying to show some of the girls a hula dance.
 

Playing pass the coconut and getting treats out.
 
 

 
 

We played water balloon toss- which turned into throw the water balloons at Scott, but they loved it. We did the sprinkler and slip n slide. It was nearly 100 degrees and so humid, so it was a good day for water games.
 
 
 
 

We really loved having Sarah and Andrew here. Nathan was in heaven having a boy around who would play with him. He and Andrew were pals. We had such a fun week with them. We went to the Zoo and about died in the heat, went swimming, went out to eat, saw the new Winnie the Pooh movie, and even hit Chuck e cheese. It was a party! I loved having Sarah here to chat with and keep me company while Scott was on the night shift. She took care of Nora all week to and it was wonderful to have the extra hands! I'm grateful for sisters and wonderful family!
 

8 Years!

Scott and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary on July 16th. That sounds like a long time! I can't believe it. I hardly remember what life was like without Scott! We got married so young, that we basically grew up together and I am more grateful and in love with him everyday. What a good catch he is. I'm so sad that I didn't get a picture of us together on our anniversary! Nora came with us on our date to dinner at Northstar one of our favorite restaurants. We got a couple cute pictures of her though.

 
 
 

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun fourth of July going to the parade. THe kids got lots of candy and they thought it was the best. We had fun at a barbeque with friends and staying up late to catch fireflies and watch the fireworks. I didn't get a picture of cute Nora in her 4th of July outfit. I'll have to put her in it again and take a photo. We are so grateful to live in the USA

 
 
 

BFF

These two sure can be silly together. I guess that is what happnes when you have a best friend 24/7. You can come up with all kinds of things to do. They are loving their bikes and look so cute riding them!

They are getting so big. Last week we made a little craft area in our basement for them and they are loving it! They go down there and color and draw and do glitter and anything they can dream up. They are talented little artists.

They just went to the doctor for the 5 year old check up. They both weighed the exact same- 34 pounds. Maddie is about a half an inch taller than Bella. They are in the 13th percentile for their age. They each had to get 5 shots and I felt bad for them, but I am also grateful for all the immunizations. Bella went first and she was so brave. On the first four she just said "OUCH" and didn't cry. The last one hurt the worst and she was about to cry but then realized she was done so she held it in. I was proud of her. Then Maddie came in from the Hallway (I didn't want her to watch Bella and get scared) and she immediately started to scream. The nurse tried to wipe her arm off with the little alchohol swab to clean it before the shot and she was hysterical. There was no reasoning with her, so I basically had to just hold her arms in place and get it done. Oh Maddie. :) I'm afraid she takes after me when it comes to shots. Any kind of scratch or blood or anything about does her in. I don't see a medical career in her future!

 
 
 
 

Nora's Blessing Day

When Nora was almost 2 weeks old we blessed her- June 19, 2011. It was Father's Day. What a great Father's day gift for Scott to bless his new baby girl. He did a wonderful job. We blessed her that day because Scott's mom and my parents were both here and it was so nice to have them visit. We were so grateful that they were all able to come for a few days and spend time with us. Maddie, Bella, and Nathan were so happy to have grandparents here. We were glad that they could come meet Nora. We were excited to use this blessing dress that we bought when we were in Belgium. They are known for their Lace and this little dress is just beautiful. We got it 7 years ago when we were on tour with the BYU folk dance team. WHat a fun memory to pull this dress out and have Nora wear it.

 
 

This is what you get when you try to take photos of tired kids after church!

 
 
 

Photo Shoot

My great friend Tamara came and took some pictures of the kids for Scott for Father's day. She did such a great job- especially considering the fact that Nathan did not want his picture taken, Maddie was crying because she stepped on something and hurt her foot, Bella was crying because the sun was in her eyes, and Nora was crying because she was tired and hungry. A great combo right? I was thrilled the Tamara got so many cute pictures. Love these kids.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Welcome Nora

The story-
Nora Melanie Rynearson was born on June 7, 2011 at 1:43 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 1/4 inches. She had lots of hair that stuck straight up. We went to the hospital to be induced that morning and everything went so great. We dropped Maddie, Bella, and Nathan at our friends' Todd and Tamara's house. They have kids our kids ages and we were so grateful to them for watching the kids all day for us! It is so nice to have good friends you can call when you live away from family. I've never been induced before so it was kind of strange to just walk in the hospital to go have a baby. It worked out so well though because I didn't have to worry about what to do with the other kids and Scott had some time off. I'd been dilated and effaced for a while and with this being baby #4 we figured it wouldn't take too long. I delivered at Scott's hospital so all the nurses were excited and the other residents had decorated our room. It was really sweet of everyone. Once my doctor broke my water at 12:15 I got my epidural and had Nora at 1:43. She was healthy and cute and immediately started sucking her thumb. Everyone always asks if Scott delivered her, but we decided since he delivers babies everyday anyway that this time he would just be the dad. We were glad that we did it this way and we got to enjoy the moment.
Scott got the other kids that afternoon and they came to the hospital to meet Nora. They were all very excited, especially since we hadn't figured out what to name her until she was born. They had just been calling her baby, but now they could meet their new sister Nora. Nora and I stayed at the hospital that night and Scott and the kids came the next day to pick us up and bring us home. Scott had the week off work and it was so great to have our little family all together as we were adjusting and recovering. Scott and the big kids did lots of fun outings and it was just a treat for us to have him around. He took care of all of us and I'm so grateful.
Nora has been the best little baby we could have asked for. She is so sweet and just basically eats and sleeps. She really has been so fun and we all adore her. It is amazing how tiny she is and that this little person was just living inside me not long ago. She is such a little snuggler and loves to be held. She is so good natured. She looks most like Nathan when he was a baby.
Maddie, Bella, and Nathan have been great with her. I've been especially amazed at how sweet Nathan has been with her. He just loves her and likes to hold her and get right up in her face. :) I had to include this last picture too because here Maddie and Bella were reading Nathan a bedtime story. The girls have stepped up and been great big sisters and helpers. They have been helping me clean up the house, playing with Nathan, getting me diapers and picking out Nora's clothes, etc. They have all done great and we are so blessed with these four wonderful kids.