One day at a time

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything new life's been really busy taking care of a new baby and sick kids and a sick husband. I'm trying to get over it myself now. Today I have no voice and every time I attempt to discipline them they give me the strangest look. They almost turn their head just a tad, like a dog does when hearing a strange noise, like I think Mom would be yelling at me now if she had a voice to yell with. Anyways as I rest my voice enjoy these pictures of the past few weeks.


I did have a fun time straightening Emily's hair for the first time. She looked so different to me and it was so nice to be able to run a brush through it! It is so long! It didn't last long in the morning it was ringlets as usual.




As soon as Avery was better I let her hold Josh again. It was so nice to have her healthy again so she could hold him and I could get a few things done. The kids love to hold him and constantly ask me, "Mom can I hold Josh?" It's nice but I can completely trust that Avery will not move from her spot even if she breaks out in a sweat after 20 minutes. It gets really hot after holding him for 15 minutes. She's my great little helper and loves her baby brother.


Sorry, I'm not sure how to turn the picture.

I know Valentine's Day is over but I had fun with the girls hair to celebrate it. Of course I got my ideas from those great hairdo blogs that I love so much. I didn't really get a picture of Avery's but it was the same concept of Emily's just having one big heart instead of Emily's two. In the above picture you can kind of make out the top of the heart braids.

Joshua Spencer

It was 1:30 am when the contractions first started. They didn't hurt but started getting closer together so by 3:30 we decided it would be best if we went to the hospital to be safe. After showering the contractions had stopped and I didn't feel anything on the drive there either. We went to the ER and by that time it was almost 5 am. Spencer was scheduled to be at work at 6:30am; and yes this was January 7th, my birthday. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors to evaluate the contractions I was having. They were every 2-3 minutes but still did not hurt although they were fairly big. I was still dilated to 2 cm. She kept me on the monitors for an hour and then rechecked me after an hour and I was at 4 cm. She called my doctor and he said to take me to labor and delivery to get the epidural and not wait for the labs to come back because I have a history of fast labors. Up in L&D I got the epidural and stayed at a 6 for about an hour. Finally around 10 am I felt a little bit of pressure but by 10:30 there was a bit more pressure and the nurse checked me and said I was complete and the dr would be here in about 5 minutes. Spencer was funny and said I'll give him ten. He timed him and he was there in 6 1/2 minutes. I pushed through two contractions and Joshua Spencer was born at 10:41 am on January 7th.



Joshua Spencer weighed 6lbs 6 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches.



Mom with beautiful new baby boy.



Emily holding her new baby brother.



Dad and Jake holding baby Joshua.



Avery is so excited to have a baby brother!



She loves him so much!



Joshua Spencer 24 hours old.



Love playing with the babies! They're so cute!



Daddy with his newest son!



Josh's had a rough day, so tired!


Spencer with baby Josh.


Love the baby hands- so wrinkly like a little old man.


So tired!




Itty bitty baby toes and feet

Itty bitty baby fingers- so sweet!

It's been almost two weeks since Josh has joined our family and we love every minute of it. Sure there is a lack of sleep on our parts but the kids love him so much and we are so blessed to have him with us.

Happy New Year!

Avery turned 7 on January 1st. She helped me make cupcakes and picked her favorite dinner on that day. Spencer was at the station so I let her pick two gifts to open and then save the rest for the 2nd when we would have Dad with us and we would go out to eat at a restaurant of her choosing and then have Grandma, Grandpa, and Heidi come over for dinner and open the rest of her presents then.
This is after dinner with the family opening a few cards. Love the toothless smile. It's been since October that she lost those two front teeth- are they ever going to grow in?!?

Don't you love the packaging for kids toys? They're adult proof and kid proof! Thank goodness for Grandpa and his knives. He and Spencer always have one in their pockets. Spencer's gotten me in the habit of having one in my purse also.

I love getting pictures of Spencer with the kids. He hates his picture taken but too bad. He's lost some serious weight and I've gained it but he looks great and I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who takes such good care of all of us. The kids adore him and when Avery talked to him on the phone on her birthday she teared up because she misses him so much and is so sensitive. She is such a sweet girl and I love her so much. She is so excited to hold her baby brother- but did not want him to be born on her birthday! She's been such a wonderful helper. Last night while Spencer was again at the station while I was putting Emily and Jake to bed she started putting the dishes away from the dishwasher without me asking. She was done by the time I was with the other two. She then helped me with the two sinks full of dirty dishes. She wrote a few thank you cards, picked out my jammies, helped put clean sheets on my bed, and helped repack my hospital bag. By that time it was past her bed time but she did get to talk to Dad again before having to go to sleep. She's such a good girl and I am so grateful that she came into our family! We love you Avery so very much!

Our Christmas

It's been a while since I've posted anything and do I feel bad? Maybe a little- it's been so busy with the holidays and being so huge! I thought I'd try and catch up on pictures and our holidays before the baby comes.

This is at Jake's pre-school Holiday Festival. I got a quick picture of Emily and Jake while we were were waiting for our turn with Santa. The kids sang Christmas songs and then all got to sit on Santa's lap.

This is the better picture of them on his lap. I'm sure Santa got tired of all the pictures and kids on his lap. Emily is just like Jake in the sense that she has no fear of most things. Avery was still petrified of Santa until she was about six- she's much more cautious than these two.

On Christmas Eve we go to Grandma and Grandpa Allreds home to celebrate Christmas and have a Christmas dinner and have the grand kids exchange books and the adults have a white elephant gift exchange. For the past few years we've attempted to act out the Nativity with the grand kids. Emily changed "outfits" twice; she was an angel at one point but was so funny as this animal. Jake was a shepherd and Avery was an angel. Grandpa read Luke 2 and was calling in the shepherds and the angel and I could never quite get up off my chair and get a picture of the whole thing, although I don't think any of them sat quite still enough except for our Mary.


Avery dressed up as an angel and Jake dressed up as a shepherd with his rain stick. The kids have a fun time and I think it helps them to really understand that Christmas is not just about Santa but is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The girls sitting with Grandpa Allred. I love how Emily and Grandpa have matching outfits on.

The flu hit us hard! I got it about two hours after getting home from Grandma and Grandpa's house. I was sick ALL night and exhausted Christmas morning. Poor little Emily woke up throwing up as well at 6 am. She has never really been sick so it hit her so hard. Luckily we had medicine from when Jake had the flu three days before. That really helped her but she still didn't get back to her normal self for almost four days. Jake and Avery were so excited to open presents but Spencer said we had to wait for Mom. I literally dragged my body out of bed and plopped on the couch with the camera to take a few pictures.

This is Avery with her new HSM bike. The kids had to keep helping me open my presents because I was almost falling asleep and I was so tired from being up most of the night.

One of Jake's favorite presents was his Star Wars lightsaber. It makes noise and everything! We each take turns opening presents and then while the kids play with their new toys Mom and Dad get to relax and check out their gifts too. For the rest of Christmas day I rested in bed and Spencer took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's to give them their gifts from us. They stayed for a short time before coming home and watching Star Wars with Dad while Emily and Mom slept. I felt better in the early evening but was having tons of contractions and started timing them. They were every 30 minutes for about 4 hours. I was really anxious - it's too early to have this baby, he'd be fine but the thought of him having to be in the NICU for any amount of time makes me really nervous. Luckily the contractions slowed down. I had a doctor appointment a few days later and he said that I was a good 1 1/2 cm dilated and would call the hospital for a induction for the 12th of January. I told him that I wasn't sure I'd make it that long but had to because Spencer was working almost every day on 24 hour shifts for the next four days. I was nervous about being without Spencer for such a long time and being so close to having the baby but decided that I really needed to take it easy.

It Snowed!!

This might not be very exciting for those of you who get snow in the winter but in Houston it is very rare! Yesterday it snowed and we were so excited! The weather this week has been very extreme! Monday and Tuesday it was really warm, in the 70's and then came the cold front late Tuesday afternoon and evening it was in the 40's. When we woke up Wednesday morning to take Avery to school it was in the 30's and it was expected to rain or sleet. The wind was blowing and it was bitter cold- down to the bone! With the humidity here it gets really cold! Well it was almost time to get Avery from the bus when it started snowing outside. We got a call from our neighbour to look outside, "It's snowing!" I didn't believe it! Last time it snowed it was 2004 on Christmas Eve. We had Jake get out of his Batman costume and get his warm clothes back on with gloves and his hat and head out with Emily in her warm gear. They were so excited to see the snow falling; it didn't stick to the ground but they loved it all the same!





Wednesday night the Young Women and Young Men went to the temple and this was our welcome when we came out. I also got a picture of Spencer's car in the driveway. On Saturday the temperature will be back up the the 70's again.

Family Pictures

Ok family pictures are always an adventure with the Allreds. It's hard to get three kids to sit and take a picture. We have two active ones that would much rather run and play wherever they are than sit and be still. So the solution is to have someone take a TON of pictures and we'll eventually find one that looks decent. It was fun and Heidi took 70 pictures in all.