It's A......?

We'd like to announce the new arrival of our little baby girl!

Haley Juliana Ballard was born Wednesday, Sept. 24th at 5:00am. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 10oz. and is 18 and a 1/2 inches long.

On Tuesday evening we had just returned home from soccer. I bathed the kids and put them down to bed. Steven was heading home from the hospital and had swung by to pick up Mom Darden from the airport.

She comes to help with each baby, and every time Steven and I are reminded of how we could never make it without her. She is truly the greatest helper and literally takes over everything needed. In the past my mom and I have spent quite a few days playing the "waiting" game in anticipation for the baby to arrive. This was not the case with baby Haley.

After putting the kids to bed, I began having contractions and by the time they walked in the door I was thinking, 'I'd better pack a bag.' We left for the hospital an hour later, and shortly after I was put in a room my water broke. Within an hour or so, Haley Juliana made a very quick appearance into this world.

It's been a great recovery and an amazing experience all around. The girls immediatly fell in love with her and will negotiate frequently on who gets to hold or feed her. Thatcher appears a bit timid to touch her but keeps watch over her as he plays with his cars from across the room. If she cries he comes to her aid quickly and asks, "why baby is crying"? He will then leave a gentle kiss on her leg and return back to his play. He loves to watch her and is most intrigued with the, "ouchie" on her belly button.

I am so grateful to be a wife and mother. Holding Haley, and looking each day into the sweet faces of all four of our little ones, offers me a gentle reminder of how truly incredible this time on earth is and how awesome it is to understand the gift our family is both here and in the eternities. I am so very grateful for a kind and gentle Father in Heaven who loves and watches over us.

Go Cougars!

In celebration of The BYU's massacre of the Bruins on Saturday, Thatcher and I spent some much needed boy time together this afternoon re-enacting the game outside.  I say much needed because I find him all too frequently with lipgloss in hand or adorned with necklaces upon returning home from work.  I attribute this to the fact that he is imprisoned at home with 3 girls (likely soon to be four knowing our family penchant for daughters) who like nothing better than to comb hair and play princess; and residency has made for long hours away.  He has an extensive collection of toy cars which he loves.  I thought some good old replicas of American Hot Rods made in China would spur his boyish side, but once again the girls in the home have taken this away from me.  Now instead of races and crashes he will frequently hold up his cars and make them talk to me- "Hi! What's your name?  I'm race car.  Let's go shopping at the store." 

My first attempt at reversing the trend was shadow boxing and play boxing with dad.  This was a lot of fun for a few days until we noticed cries of  "Mom, Thatcher hit me" start to escalate throughout the week.  Alas, that game has ended due to 'tender feelings' . . . at least while Mom is watching :)

So I recently bought him a NERF football.  He loves carrying it around and so far I have not seen it dressed in doll's clothes.  Today I tried to teach him the finer points of football.  I have seldom had as much fun as watching him put his own spin on the game.

Snapping the ball:

I bent down to show him how to snap the ball, yelled hike and handed it to him between my legs.  Then I told him to try.  He proceeded to put the ball between his legs, give it to me, then turn around said "Hi Ball!" and wave hello.  He got it right the second time.

Tackling:

I spent a lot of time chasing him with the ball, because he didn't want to give it up, interspersed with gentle tackles.  The first time I took the ball from him and began to run I told him it was his turn to tackle me.  He ran up behind me, started wiggling his fingers on my leg and said "Tickle, Tickle, Tickle".  I gently reminded him that it was Tackle not Tickle at which point he grabbed my leg and tried to bite me.  In my mind I thought, what have I done?  He is going to grow up to be a dirty Ute."  He got it right the third time and I knew that he learned fast.  I felt reassured that the Y would take him after all.

Touchdowns and "Thank you"s

We practiced running to the end zone a lot.  Every time I told him to get a touchdown he would run to the end of the yard and then put his hands on the ground.  I couldn't figure out what he was doing at first, and then I realized he was "touching down" on the ground.  I tried a different tact and taught him to signal for a touchdown when he finished running.  He tried again, made the 'endzone', and threw his hands up in the air like the Cougar he is.  Then I asked him, "Now what do you say?"  He thought for a moment and shouted "Thank You!".  It was then that I knew he could play for Coach Mendenhall- he was definitely a character player- all gratitude and no attitude.

Outdoor Enjoyment!

The weather here has been a wonderful thing to experience so spending time at the park and soccer field have been an enjoyable way to spend our time over the past few weeks. We have been lucky to live in an area filled with an amazing amount of great parks and outdoor recreational areas. This particular park has a great walking path around it so lately we have return there often in hopes of coaxing the baby into an on time arrival.
Soccer matches have also begun and have been very exciting to watch. Ryley is more timid than most but has found a new love and strength in being goalie. She does a great job at it and once she stops a ball she'll run like a bullet with it high above her head and launch it back onto the field. Kadyn is not more timid than most and has found a new love in shooting the ball at the goal. On Saturday she made eleven attempts and although the goalie was able to stop each one she never gave up and continued to try until the final whistle blew. With all her energy and spunk she continues most to look out for her fellow teammates, yet luckily, even with recent injuries, we have not seen a repeat of any "surprise" affection!
More than anything it's been so enjoyable for Steven and I to watch them try and experience something new and unknown.

Marvelous Mom's

Believe it or not the picture below is not of baby items received at a shower, but rather, items that have recently arrived in the mail from my Mom. She is always thrilled to hear news of a new grandchild arriving but in the final few months she gets increasingly more excited and apprehensive. She, along with my wonderful mother in law, both call after each and every check up to see how things went. Over the past few weeks however I would receive an additional call from my mom later that day from "Babies R Us" to tell me about all of the wonderful things she was finding. I guess that should have been my first clue but I didn't think you could prepare that well without knowing the gender. I explained that she really didn't have to worry about anything until we see if it's a boy or girl and her reply then was, "Don't worry, once we know the gender we'll really go shopping."


Believe it or not the picture below that is what filled the second box that arrived. I have prepared surprise "gift bags" from the baby for Ryley, Kadyn, and Thatcher to receive when they come to visit me at the hospital. Each tote bag has their name on it and is filled with games and toys to occupy them while Mommy is away. My mom asked if she could help with filling the bags and boy did she ever! I'm not sure the kids will even notice I'm gone with all of this to keep them busy. The cute thing is knowing that Grandma will be just as excited as the kids to run home from the hospital in order to play with their new things.

Kadyn's First Kiss?

Kadyn practices soccer on Thursday evenings so yesterday we packed as normal and headed down to the fields. Everything was running as usual. The coach was playing a game where each child has a number and when your number gets called you run for the ball and attempt to score. One of the little boys next to Kadyn (Daniel - also the coaches son) took his turn and while running back to his spot fell down. He quickly jumped up though and things seemed fine until I witnessed the following take place. Kadyn looks over at Daniel and then looks down at his scrape. She looks back and with all the confidence in the world walks right up to him, takes his face between her two little hands and plants a big wet one on his lips!! The other parents and myself all froze. Daniel stood there stunned for a moment and then ran to his Mom waving his hands in the air and while half crying, half screaming, proclaimed that Kadyn had just kissed him on the lips. By now the adults were all laughing and I was running across the field to speak with Kadyn about the subject of kissing - a topic I wasn't yet prepared to have with my four year old daughter in the mist of a soccer practice. I knelt down and said, "Kadyn sweetheart, I know you think Daniel is cute but we don't kiss people on the mouth, alright?" She looked up at me with her innocent sweet face and said, "Oh Mom, it's not just that he's cute - I love him!" She then ran back on the field and continued to practice as though nothing had happened. We spoke a bit more of it after returning home but I wanted to be careful so as not to embarrass her. Her actions were so honest and genuine. I think now she has a little more understanding of the proper way to show affection to others. You know, like a nice pat on the back or a "Good job pal", at least until she's in college!

Holiday Happiness

I love Labor Day weekend. It's so fun and relaxing. Ryley asked Steven on Friday why we celebrate Labor Day and he said, "It's a day for Americans to celebrate their hard work by not working". I thought that summed it up pretty well. We decided to spend the break doing the two things that our children love best. Amusement parks and the zoo.

The fair came to town recently so on Saturday we headed there with the kids and had a fantastic day. They had great rides for their heights and ages and fun additional attractions as well. There were many rides to choose from but after awhile the girls had "favorites" and rode the same things over and over again. They had a great time and already are asking when the fair will return again. On the way home Steven and I were excited to discover a "Wing Stop" restaurant. They had one in Colorado Springs and we missed it a great deal, so, while he put the kids to bed I snuck back down and grabbed us some yummy food and we ended the evening with a movie and a great meal.

Monday morning we were awakened early by the pitter patter of footsteps. Thatcher had successfully completed his first night sleeping in a "big boy bed". He didn't get out of bed once the entire night. Now we just need to teach him the importance of staying in the bed past 6 AM. The kids played quietly allowing us to rest a little longer and after enjoying breakfast (Steven makes awesome waffles) we got the kids ready and headed out the door for a day at the zoo. As always we had a great time there. We forgot our camera this trip but if you'd like to see zoo pics feel free to look back at our numerous other entries. I have yet to show a picture of the hippopotamus catching and devouring an entire watermelon in an instant so next time I'll try to capture that moment.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend and typically disappointing to wake up the day after and return to more mundane endeavors. I guess when you really think about it that's what makes holidays so special.

XX or XY?

I've recently received emails and calls in regards to our pregnancy and why I haven't posted a picture actually showing my belly. I guess in the last months, when your not feeling your cutest, it's easier being the one behind the camera instead of in front of it. Nevertheless, I'm taking the risk of stepping out of my comfort zone and posting a pic.

My due date is around the end of September so if all goes well I have three weeks remaining. If my body does as it did with our last three miracles however than I'll have a bit more time than that. Either way I'm feeling great with the small exception of some major swelling in my hands which tends to make them constantly numb, tingly, and ache. Only a few more weeks to go though and with the amazing gift you receive at the end I'm sure I can take just about anything. We are VERY excited for the upcoming arrival and almost have everything in place and ready to go, whether it's a boy or a girl! I say almost based on the small problem of having no ideas or even possibilities for boy names. Oh well, we'll do what we've done with all our children thus far and name them as we sign the paper work to leave the hospital!