John, Jennie, Rian and Gunnar

Monday, May 28, 2012

Visiting Great Grandma Pace

Over Thanksgiving this last year we went to visit Great Grandma Pace in Bicknell. The kids always love going to her house and playing with the few small toys she has. It was also the first time Grandma had seen Harley. We enjoyed visiting and watching the kids play. Thanks for the visit Great Grandma!

Grandma just loved seeing Harley!

Rian, Great Grandma, and Harley

Rian, Grandma, Harley, Gunnar, and Jennie (John was taking the picture)

Grandma and Harley

Monday, February 27, 2012

Arrgh! A Pirate Princess, a Parrot, and a Skeleton

This last year for Halloween Rian wanted to be a pirate princess. I decided to make Harley a parrot costume. We were going to have Gunnar also be a pirate, however we had a very hard time getting him to keep on a costume. Gunnar quickly became a Skeleton and got to wear his pajamas for trick or treating. We had a great time and it was so warm we didn't even need our coats. Trick or Treat!!

Church Trunk or Treat

Everyone loved their costumes!

Who needs candy when you can sleep?

The monster candy basket is always a must!

Mr. Skeleton really did NOT want to be in the pictures. He was still cute.

Pumpkins from Black Island Farms. The Green Lantern, a Madd Hatter, and an Owl.

Rian's Ghost and Gunnar's Bat Pumpkins.

I couldn't resist getting this iron on to put on the back of Harley's onesie. Arrgh...Wipe Me Booty!

I made the parrot out of felt and the skirt out of tulle. I don't normally make the kids costumes, but I'd say this one is pretty good!!

Black Island Farms

These Photos were taken October 20th, 2011. We went to Black Island Farms again to pick pumpkins in their pumpkin patch and enjoy the corn maze and slides. I didn't get too many photos but we sure had fun!

I just love this kid! What a cute little smirk.

Who doesn't love a good ride in a barrel pulled by a 4-wheeler.

I had to throw this random picture in here too. Just because I like it. Love you Gunnar Buddy!

Skeleton Jammies

The kids love the tradition of finding Skeleton Pajamas for everyone. This year Gymboree (and Walmart) didn't disappoint. The kids got these in September 2011 and are still wearing them in February 2012. Thought these pictures were so cute.

This kid sure loves his little sister!

Driveway Concrete Finally!

We finally decided to finish our driveway project started back in 2008 or so. Yeah I know...It really took us this long to finish it. We wanted to do it a long time ago, but due to money had to wait. John had some friends at work who were willing to help, who also had the finishing tools, and hooked us up with a discount on the concrete as well. They saved us a lot of money and did a phenomenal job. When they were almost finished we took the kids out and let them put in their hand prints. Harley was only 3 weeks old, but I couldn't resist and we did hers too.

We are thinking about putting a fence up so we left holes next to the sidewalk for fence posts. You might also notice how nice our trees are looking in the park strip.

We forgot to put the date in the concrete, but can always remember how little Harley was when we did this. The kids love to go out and look at it from time to time. Fun Memories!!

Harley's Blessing Dress

I had a mini photo shoot back in October, with Harley in her blessing dress. These were taken a few days after Harley's Blessing Day. Here are some of my favorites:

Full dress shot. (these long dresses are really hard to get into one picture!)

Love this one ! And I quote Rian, " Harley is Smilish!"

The blanket in the background is one my Grandma Willard made for me when I was pregnant with Rian. We love using it for special occasions like Harley's Blessing Day.

Harley's Blessing Day

Harley Jordan Pace was blessed on October 9, 2011 by her Daddy John Pace. It was a very special day for all of us. It just happened that my sister Adrienne Rowley decided to bless their baby boy Keyan on the same day in our ward, as well as our good friends Jared and Michelle Johnson who blessed their baby girl Kaylin. What a special Day to share with so many other babies! (There was also another family in our ward who blessed a baby this day-4 Blessings!!)

We were so glad that Harley's Great Grandma Millett was able to make it to the blessing.

Millett Side of the family.

The Pace Family-Belinda & Steve Wirthlin & family, Our Family, Mom and Dad Pace, Andy &Amy Pace

Some of our Best Friends-the Johnsons. Jared, Michelle, Kaylin, Jennie, Harley, & John

Other long time friends, the Virgins-Dave, Megan, and Hilary also came to Harley's Blessing..

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Happy 4th Birthday Rian!

Rian turned four years old on September 10th, 2011. For her birthday we went out to eat at the Olive Garden. She loves the Alfredo there! Grandma Pace and some of our good friends came with us to eat. Then we came home to open presents and have cake and icecream.

Apparently Gunnar also loves the Olive Garden.

Dora birthday cake.

This Diva is 4!!

Jared and Michelle sure love Rian and gave her this new Rapunzel Dress. This girl sure loves dress ups!

Rian is such a sweet person to have around. She loves to color and draw pictures. Recently she has also gotten into watercolors. She loves to pretend cook (luckily, Aunt Cassy's family gave her a toy mixer), play with dolls, and games on her Leapster Explorer. She loves her new little sister Harley and is best buds with her brother Gunnar. Rian won't start pre-school until next year because she misses the deadline for kindergarten. She is such a joy to us. Happy 4th Birthday to our wonderful daughter Rian!

Monday, October 3, 2011

And then there was 3!

Our little Harley is getting so big! She is already 5 weeks old and growing so fast. Yesterday we weighed her in at 9.6 pounds. We've had a great first month with her. The first week it was nice to relax a little with just Harley. My parents took Rian and Gunnar to Vernal for the week (which they absolutely loved) so that I could just enjoy our new baby. Then, we traveled out to Vernal the next Friday to pick them up. It was a little bit crazy when we got there, as we have never left Gunnar overnight anywhere. He had a bit of abandonment issues...and the crying commenced! It was kind of funny, because he was fine the entire week until I got there. Its good to know that I am loved and was missed. Thanks Mom and Dad for playing with them all week!

This big brother sure loves his sister!

Sisters!

Once we were back at home it took a few days (or weeks) to get into a good routine that made everyone happy. Mostly just me. Luckily, Harley has been an alright sleeper-usually sleeping for 3 or 4 hours at a time. I have also learned to give Rian and Gunnar constructive activities during the day to keep them busy and lots of outside playtime. Even with the newly added chaos, I know that they both love their little sister so much. Harley is showered with kisses nonstop (Gunnar makes the cutest kissing sound now too) and both Rian and Gunnar want to hold her and give her loves (hugs) all day long. All in all, we are adjusting to our new addition quite well and loving every minute with Harley!

Our little princess Harley

An August 27th Birth Day

When I woke up and realized that my water had broken while I was sleeping, I had that immediate nervous feeling of excitement. Our baby girl was coming today! It was Birth Day! I woke John up with a "want to have a baby today?" although it took him a minute to realize that I was serious. I took immediate action and started gathering the rest of the stuff on my hospital bag checklist. Then I placed a call to my sister Cassy to see if she would babysit Rian and Gunnar. Luckily I caught her at home, because they were leaving to Salt Lake for a family reunion a few hours later. Her husband came and picked up our kids which was a huge lifesaver for us. After another phone call to my Parents, I finished getting ready and we were off to the hospital by 11 am.

Once we arrived at the hospital and checked in, I learned that my OB Doctor Hartman was out of town. I was really nervous about this, because I had a previously bad experience with the particular OB that was now going to be delivering my baby. I just had to go with it. I kept telling myself, "It's going to be okay, he just has to catch the baby, right??" We started walking the halls to hopefully induce some contractions. (as I was not having any at this time.) The first time the nurse actually checked me I was already at a 4+ and 80% effaced. I told her that once I got to 6 it was pretty much a done deal, so she prepped the room 'just in case'. Then, an hour later I was still at a 5. She told me if I didn't do anything soon they would give me pitocin (which I really didn't want). At 3:30 or so, my parents had made it to the hospital (which was a huge surprise, because they had to drive 3 1/2 hrs to get there.) So my Mom and I started REALLY walking the halls. My Dad and John were watching TV in the waiting area, so we could wave at them between each lap.

I had a stop watch on my phone we used to time the contraction intervals and to see how long it was taking us to make a lap around the hallway. They were 3 1/2 minutes apart and never got any closer. I really thought they would be giving me the pitocin. I didn't feel like walking anymore, so we opted to go back to the room. To my surprise, the next hour when they checked me I was at an 6! The nurse said that she would notify the Dr. so he could be on his way. I think I had 2 more contractions and then I pushed the call button to tell the nurse I was having A LOT of pressure. (I told my Mom at this point that I thought she should go and get John from the waiting room so he didn't miss the birth of our daughter.) The Nurse checked me again and I was at an 8+ and 100 % effaced. The nurses all went into motion prepping for the delivery and the Dr. still wasn't there. The nurse then called in another nurse, just in case the Dr. didn't make it in time. I was very pleased by the nurses this time around. They were all aware that I was planning a natural childbirth and were very encouraging. One of the nurses looked me in the eye and said to me, "Do not worry. I CAN deliver your baby!" Although, not a minute later, Dr. Marriott came walking in in shorts and a ball cap.

The delivery went rather quickly and thanks to an awesome Dr. (despite my previous encounter), I had a 100% natural delivery with no episiotomy or stitches. At 6:26 pm, our baby girl was here and she was beautiful! We named her Harley Jordan Pace (after my brother Jordan). She was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches. My parents came in just a few minutes later while the nurses weighed and cleaned up our sweet girl. I was so glad they could be here for this special day. Happy Birth Day Harley!