Wow! Our sweet baby girl is already 7 weeks old. I continue to be amazed at how much babies change and grow in just a matter of weeks.It's been very fun seeing Chantel become more alert and getting to know her little personality. Here are a few things she has been enjoying lately.She LOVES to be snuggled and to be swaddled tight like a little burrito. She loves the sound of running water, bath time, lots of sleeping, and lots of eating. :) She loves the attention from her big brother and sister......... or perhaps she's contemplating how she ended up in the circus. :)It has been such a blessing to have this one here. I love her tiny hands and feet and that she has her dad's long fingers and toes. I love that when she nurses she rests her little hand on my chest and looks up at me with those sweet and innocent eyes. I love that as soon as she hears her dad's voice she gets a huge smile on her face and her little eyes start to sparkle.I love the way she stretches and how peaceful she looks when she's asleep.I love watching Logan and Maddy talk to her, sing to her and hold her hand when she cries.Yes, I think we've all fallen in love  with our little Chantel. Since her arrival I have felt such an overwhelming gratitude for my family . I can't help but wake up and be grateful for my blessings. I think about how blessed I am to be with a husband I love and children who bring me such joy. I can't think of a better way to begin the day then with this precious little one snuggled up next to me. I have been laughing a lot lately when I think of the extreme change from the past 9 months of fat, sassy, and not quite the best attitude. Although the chubbiness has stayed I now seem to awake in the middle of a musical wearing rose colored glasses. :) I guess going through a few of life's unpleasant moments makes you so much more grateful for the blessings you have at the end.

Here are a few pictures of the kids. Maddy schools had there yearly jog-a-thon as their school fundraiser. It was adorable to see all these little kids running laps around the field. (They ran more than a mile, haha, I think that's more than I could do right now)And of course Logan had to join in for a few laps too.

This was something I forgot to post a while back. In the spirit of keeping this as a journal (or a sad attempt at one) I thought I should take a quick moment to sum up my thoughts on the last 9 months. As anyone who knows me already knows, pregnancy is not really my thing. As much as I would've loved to be radiant and adorably round that's just not the hand I was dealt. So I thought I would mention the highlight and the low lights for me to remember. First we have the low lights. :) Umm.... it probably started with the first month of disbelief. We knew we wanted more children but had planned on waiting one more year. Then there was the morning..errr all day sickness. Many times I tried to talk myself out of vomiting or feeling sick. Another lovely  was always knowing your proximity from a bathroom, toilet or bucket. Gagging while coughing and brushing my teeth. I seemed to catch every germ that came through the door and had a permanent 9 month cold. Exhausted. I remember trying to bribe Maddy and Logan to attempt a nap or just to lie down and rest. Insomnia. It was extremely tough to get up each morning after only a couple hours of sleep a night. Pregnancy is 9 months that I just don't quite feel like myself. Probably my hormones going crazy, the sickness, and no sleep has something to do with it. Also a low point was my mortifying doctors appointment where I gained 11 pounds in 2 weeks. I wanted to hide when the doctor (in disbelief) is double checking the numbers with the nurse thinking she must have wrote it wrong. Then she turns to me and asks what happened. I had no idea what to say except that I guess my vacation was a pretty good one. I do however think that this was the easiest pregnancy so far. And I think a huge reason for that was my family. Even though it was tough, there definitely were some highlights that I will remember fondly. Like when we told  the kids we were having a baby. Maddy was so excited she was beaming. She told all the family, and everyone at church and school that her mom was having a baby.  Logan liked talking about all the toys he was going to share with our baby. I remember one night he took out some of his very favorite toys and cars and set each on my bed telling me that he was going to share these things with the baby and how much she was going to like them. Of course another perk of pregnancy was to be able to eating anything I wanted without guilt since the baby needed it. :) The ultrasound of Chantel was another special moment. To see our little baby and to have the kids see her and be excited about having a sister was priceless. I loved when Maddy told the doctor," A sister, that's just what I wanted." Logan cried when we left  because he wanted to bring his sister home right now. :) Seeing how excited the kids were throughout the pregnancy really helped.  All things considered I think what I really loved and will miss about the experience is probably just 3 simple things.Feeling the baby move. Sharing all those little moments just her and I and knowing that she was always with me. The second would be seeing the kids so excited about their little sister.They loved to talk to the baby through the hole(my belly button.) They thought it was hilarious to give zerberts  on my belly to the baby as well. Their laughter was contagious. The last thing I loved and will miss is going to sleep every night knowing that no matter what happened that day I had done something that was truly important beyond measure. I'd been entrusted to be carrying a precious little miracle.

This is just a few highlights from the last few weeks. Two weeks ago was Chantel's Baby blessing. It was a very special day. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by such a supportive and loving family. Thanks to all our family that made the day so memorable. Last week Logan had his first day of preschool.... well sort of. Logan had spent a few days at a differnt preschool, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the right school for him. The experience was a good reminder to me that as mothers we are blessed with mother's intuition. That you need to follow your gut feeling. Fortunately he is really liking his new school and I feel very comfortable with him there. His teacher is great and he loves telling Maddy about the tarantula in the school library. I think he sees how much his sister loves school and it has made him that much more excited to be big enough to go to school. Maddy celebrated her 5th birthday(yes a few weeks late) with a birthday party on the only day it has rained in the last year. :) The party ended up very fun and all worked itself out but I couldn't believe it only rained on that Saturday. Maddy has also been loving school and her teacher very much. At the end of September her school had their very first  assembly. Madelyn received the scholar of the month award for her Kindergarten class. It was so incredibly cute. Dean and I were beaming. We were so proud of her. Afterwards her principal came over to congratulate her. She said she could see that Madelyn was very proud of herself and her hard work.The smile on her little face is priceless when she knows she has really accomplished something. As for Dean, he has been pretty busy with work, family, his calling, and now he has joined a volleyball team. Hopefully we'll make it to see a few of his games even though they start a little late. Me? I am starting to see a slight piece of how this whole 3 kids and very busy is starting to come together. Yes, very busy but very fulfilling. Are we all sleep deprived? Absolutely, but I can't complain, I am just thrilled to have our little one here. She is such a sweetie. I think there is just something about newborns that help you to remember the things that are really important in life. So tiny and precious. With no words at all I have already seen her bring this family closer together. The kids adore her. Maddy says,"She is just so cute I can hardly stand it". Logan is very gentle with her. 100 times a day he will say I think she needs a kiss. Then I will hold her down to his height and he will give her a gentle kiss on the head. It's precious to see the love and the bonds of siblings. In short, after nine months of highs and lows, LIFE IS VERY VERY GOOD!

Playing peek a boo with Chantel                        Any similarities?

  Gotta love cousins                                   Logan and Ry ticking each other with cattails

Logan's first day at new preschool                    Loves her bath time

Snuggles with mom                                         All for me?

Our little Scholar of the month                          Kisses from her big bro

All the kids waiting for the candy                        Madelyn's Princess party

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Chantel Shay Oliverson

   Video: Chantel Shay Oliverson