Norah Jane McArthur 09/06/09

She is here!!! Two weeks early weighing in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Last Sunday I woke up not feeling too well and was having more cramping than usual. Dan suggested that I just go get checked out to be sure things were okay. I didn't really want to. I figured I wasn't feeling that bad and I really hate being in the hospital more than I have too. I got there and the nurse started to do her routine tests. She sampled for amniotic fluid and found nothing. The monitors showed I was cramping with a few contractions here and there. When she checked me she said her head was engaged but I was still only at a three and I would probably be going home later that afternoon. Soon after that I started to bleed and the nurse called my doctor and she told me I would probably be having my baby within the next hour or two. I called Dan so he could get a babysitter and get to the hospital. They got the O.R. prepped and ready and she was born at 11:39 am! I did have a c-section scheduled for the next Sunday and I was really hoping for her to come on 09/09/09 but she decided to come early. :) She is such a beautiful baby and we love her so much. We are so grateful for this sweet little girl and that we get to have her in our family.







I tend to freak out a little as soon as the sheet goes up between me and everyone else. Dan was having fun taking pictures. :)































































My very tired self :)


Norah and I decided to do a little photo shoot while we were in the hospital. There was such great light to work with.



































Dan picked out her take home outfit all by himself. I hadn't bought it yet. He did such a good job. Thanks Sally for the adorable bows!

Little bit of sweetness and craziness

I wanted to update my kids pictures before our next one comes. Next time, I will hire someone to take them. It was so dang hot, I'm ready to have this baby, and my kids don't listen to me at all when the camera comes out. The shoot lasted only about 25 minutes...but 23 minutes too long. :) Afterwards we ate our picnic lunch and went to the visitors center for FHE. We ran into a family who happened to be in my sisters ward in Surprise and they had 5 kids, really close together, and a set of twins in there. The youngest was probably 6 or 7. We got to talking with them and Dan and I were so relieved to see them and know it's possible for us to survive the next few years. :) One day at a time!


Now for the sweets....

Gracie...she would pose herself and tell me when to take the picture. :)

















Reece..most of the time, not such a fan of having her picture taken. We did get some good ones though. :)











Violet...much more cooperative.











Now for the craziness...

Bryce Family Sealing...

I don't know how my sister Allison does it. She is such an amazing mom with 6 very well behaved kiddos. A couple weeks ago the remaining three kids, whose adoptions were finalized recently, got sealed to Allison and David. It was so cool to be there. I missed the sealing of the first three because I was in the hospital with the twins and couldn't make it. Luckily I was able to go to this one and we did a little family photo shoot to record the day. After the temple, most of my family met up at Amazing Jakes for the afternoon. We had such a blast and it was so fun to see my family.

Now I know I'm crazy...

I always get this way when it gets close to having another baby. I remember feeling super anxious before we had the twins but I felt like I was really prepared for them to come. With this one coming soon I don't know how I'm going to do it. This last Sunday we got to church early as usual and decided to try sitting on a side row instead of in the back chairs. We hoped they would stay contained and that we had enough distractions to keep them busy. We did not even make it two minutes before Dan and I looked at each other and decided it wasn't going to work. Violet chucked her bottle at me, getting milk all over my shirt and Reece was screaming so loud it was hurting the deaf man's ears who was sitting behind us. So we headed out into the foyer. The girls were screaming and somehow, I was carrying Violet, (the heavier one) and was chasing down our Bishop carrying a crumpled tithing envelope with milk and slobber all over it, trying to get it to him before the meeting started. I don't know what hit me but as I turned around to catch up with Dan to find a seat in the foyer on other side, I totally broke down. I have no idea how we are going to do this. People told me I was crazy for having another one so soon after the twins and I do know that. I know eventually I will be glad that we did but for now, I'm not even going to pretend that I think I can handle it and have it together. I'm totally anxious to meet this little one and I'm so excited that our family is growing but I think about certain situations and realize that there is going to be no way that I can even feed this one without two more babies crawling all over me. I can hardly go a day without breaking down and realizing that my "normal" is going to be very chaotic for the next few years. I look at my messy house and think that there is no way I can even get it cleaned before this little one comes or even keep up with it after she does. I don't even feel like there is one person that I can call to watch my kids while I probably end up driving myself to the hospital. So yes...now I know I'm crazy. If anyone has any advice whatsoever, it will totally be appreciated. It's always good to know that you're not the only one out there who has had these feelings. I just want to be a good mom....hopefully I can do this.
-Becky

Newest little niece...

Here is sweet Brooklyn. Dan's sister Becca and her husband Andrew had their first! She is super sweet and we had a blast doing this session. Here's just a peek. There are more posted on my website and photoblog. Credits to Dan on most of these amazing shots!