Every Single Day is special

When I nurse, I don't read books. I stare at my beautiful, miracle baby. He has brought so much joy into our lives in his short month of life. His cheeks have doubled in size, which makes him look more and more like our other kids. This one of him sleeping looks like Clark's hair...

This one looks like Grant a lot, and a bit of Clark's nose. I am waiting EVER so patiently for the first smile. He's almost 5 weeks, and it should be arriving any day. I will think of it as Drew's gift to me for feeding him every 3 hours for the past 35 days. Well worth it!

Here Grant is reading to the boys about "World Leaders", and even Drew is participating (on left). Grant was supposed to be holding him, but decided that the couch was doing a fine job. He's multi-tasking.

Daddy loves to give Drew a bath, and Drew loves to get them. He just sits there enjoying the warm water, never making a sound. For as much as he spits, he gets a lot of baths to clean out that cute little (chubby) neck. We love this little boy SO much!

Funny story about Clark.. (I do have 4 other children, who have adjusted quite nicely to the move, by the way). I handed Clark a cookie from Ikea in the car the other day. You know the ones that are round, with a round dollup of chocolate in the middle? Anyway, I handed it to him, and he said "Wow...these are well designed!"

One more funny... our John is known for having one volume...LOUD! NO matter how much you ask him to speak sweetly or softly, he retreats back to his normal volume within seconds. Last Saturday, while we were setting up the trampoline, I heard John yelling at full voice about something...right afterwards, Clark said (in a yelling voice himself) "John! You do not have to yell as loud as a fire engine!" Well said, buddy!

Presenting...Drew Michael Croshaw!

The kids absolutely ADORE him, and can't say enough how tiny he is, and cute, and sweet!

Drew was just out of his Bili Bed, hence the diaper-only attire. The kids just want to hold him all the time and I love it. It's really brought them together, and they love to just watch his every move!

Here's our little angel, in a super-soft blanket from Mimi. Who do you think he looks like?

This is what Faith spends her days doing lately - kissing Drew! I think she might even kiss him more than I do, and that's a lot!

They are so happy to have a new brother - AND we'll be moving into our new house this week. Thank you so much to everyone who helped with the big unpack yesterday. I can't wait to go and see it tomorrow morning!

We also had a delicious dinner brought by the sweet Nelson Family, complete with Rootbeer floats. That certainly hit the spot, and their generosity was amazing! In times like these, when I am on the receiving end, it reminds me to really Pay it Forward whenever I get a chance.

More of Drew...

This is Drew's home tanning bed - aka the Bili Bed. When we left the hospital, they delivered this for his continued treatment of his Bilirubin. The bed glows, as does the little paddle that we lay on his tummy. He was SO cute, and the kids loved the glasses. We were even tempted to color the glasses to look like Mr. Incredible!

Just home from the hospital on Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day! I can already tell that this boy is going to be a patient one! He just lets out these little mini-cries and then waits for someone to come. He is already such a joy in our home!

Drew's Bilirubin treatments in the hospital. Because his levels were still too high, they kept him one day longer than I stayed. At first thought, I didn't worry about it, because they said I could do a "Hotel Stay" at the hospital, and be right there to nurse him. But, when my sweet nurse, Marcia, said that the beds were all full and I couldn't stay, my post-pregnancy emotions went into overload and I just cried and cried!

It was SO hard to leave him there, but as it always does, everything worked out and we brought him home the next morning! We are just so blessed and can't even count our blessings fast enough!

Here's our little munchkin making a funny face. This shiny blanket was provided by Mimi, and does NOT work as a blanket because he slides right out. Maybe he'll like it as his little "lovey".

Just out! Sweet as can be, and already bringing such a peaceful Spirit into our home.

Ta Da! He's here...

Drew Michael Croshaw arrived on Wednesday, Feb. 11th at 1:10pm, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces. The delivery was flawless, and I felt GREAT afterwards.

Just as the kids had requested for months before, they were able to meet their brother just 10 minutes after he was born, still slimy and everything!

Faith wanted to sit by me, and make sure I was doing alright - I can already tell that she will be my BIGGEST helper with our little guy!

Proud Mimi - doesn't it almost look like Drew is smiling too? This Mimi has done EVERYTHING in my place for the past 5 days, and I can't be grateful enough! So much for retiring, right mom?

Here's Faith and I in a picture taken by the amazing Grant! He covered ALL the details about this delivery, including the mountains out the window. Thanks for being so thorough, buddy!

Baby Day Tomorrow

Hello, Folks.
Baby Boy Croshaw (possibly to be named Drew) is coming tomorrow.
They will call me anytime after 5am and tell me to come to the hospital.
I took my last Lovenox shot this morning (Wahoo!) and so it will need to be at least 24 hours before they are able to give me my Epidural. Looks like everything is working like clockwork.
So so grateful.

I suspect that by the early afternoon, we will meet our little bundle for the first time.
As excited as I am, I can hardly wait for the kids to meet him.
We have counted down days since it was over 100, and now it's TOMORROW.

They want to make posters for him, and see him when he's only 10 minutes old.
I hope they can. I know that they will remember this day forever.
What's a better memory than the day that your baby brother was born.

So, stay tuned...more details to come!

7 days to BABY...and counting!

What would YOU do the week before your baby arrives?

I am definitely nesting...cleaning every cupboard in Mom's house that I come in contact with. We even tackled the Storage Room today - big improvement, but not completely done yet.

I am preparing for baby...got my onesies, sleepers, binkies, bottles, burp cloths, hats and blankets. It's fun to find great deals for this little guy! And because I have NOTHING from my previous babies here at the house (it's all in the POD), I was justified in stocking up, at least enough to get us through the first couple weeks without our stuff.

I am sleepy and worn out, yet uncomfortable when I'm in my bed. This is not a good combination. I am fully aware that my life will be turned upside down in just 7 short days. Believe me...I"d love to sleep more than I am, but it's just not happening.

I am still giving myself Lovenox shots everyday, only now I do it in the morning rather than the evening. This will make it easier to "time" the induction, and better ensure that I will, in fact, be able to have an epidural at delivery. If, for some reason, I went into labor by myself, and it hadn't been 24 hours since the last shot, they would NOT give me an epidural! So, I'll skip my last shot, and everything should be just great. I have done more than 250 shots, and I only have about 7 more...Hallelujah!

Today, I did something not many pregnant women do a week before delivery...I went to the Cannery! I canned about 500 pounds of Hard White Wheat, as well as Oats, White Beans, Pinto Beans and Black Beans. I didn't even begin to complete my list of "wants", but we are again ready for an emergency, and it feels GOOD! A dear member of our new Draper ward came to the house and unloaded every one of those boxes into our garage. Wasn't that sweet?

Things to do before baby...speak in church, close on house, arrival of appliances, carpets cleaned, highlight my hair, shave legs, finish packing the hospital bag, download pictures, Valentines for the kids and Andrew, and more (I'm sure there's more).

Stay tuned...

It's my Birthday!

Dear Blog Readers (hope you're still out there),
We have officially been in Utah for a MONTH, and it's more than I can comprehend.
We have filled our days with COUSIN fun to the max, sleepovers, birthday parties. Not to mention house hunting, phone calls with the bank, job searching and so much more.

Grant and Faith are in school at my Alma Mater, Westridge Elementary, and seem to be doing fine. Baby is coming in just 3 weeks, and the kids can hardly wait one more second. We attended a Baby Class at the Intermountain Medical Center (5300 & State) last night, and I think it boosted ALL of our excitement for this little guy to arrive.

Clark and John are enjoying their time here, although I think they miss the schedule of their Preschool. We read extra books and play the Wii (Santa's gift for Christmas) together. Clark is quite the little bowler. Clark's favorite activity so far here in Utah is SLEDDING. As he walked up the hill for the 50th time, I asked him "Clark, is this better than Disneyland?" His reply...YES!

Today's my birthday, and to celebrate, I invited my entire family (all 20 of them) to join me at the Open House of the Draper Temple. I can't think of a better place to celebrate.

Oh, did I mention? Through a twist of fate, we GOT A HOUSE for a great price! We'll be living in Draper beginning in February sometime. The 1/2 acre yard is just too good to be true, and can't wait for you to come share it with us. We literally close the DAY before the baby is to arrive - this might be interesting. I'm happy to let my husband sneak away from the hospital after baby arrives, because I know he will be inching us closer to being in our own place.

I am SO grateful to my sweet parents who have hosted all 6+ of us so beautifully. It truly has not been inconvenient for us at all, and I hope that we have lightened their load rather than burdened it. They sure act like they like us (wink).

Pictures will come soon - I'm just not sure how to do it on my mom's computer.

We miss all our dear friends in Arlington, and hope they know how much they have influenced our lives for good. Please keep in touch - we love you!