Early October

Another couple of weeks have flown by.  Autumn is nearly 4 weeks old.  She still feels so new to me and I  catch myself staring at her in amazement. She is our little cuddle baby and we have sabotaged our nights by training her to think she needs to be held every moment.  She is such a sweet little thing and even her brother and sister treasure her.

One afternoon we set out in search of a nearby forest that due to land disputes, has never been logged.  It is full of trees that are over 500 years old. Most of the trees in Pennsylvania are only about a hundred years old, as the forests here have been clear cut three or more times since the area was settled. We were excited to see it. However, as Pennsylvania dirt roads go, we once again got lost. We still had a great time. It was a beautiful drive with fall colored leaves. We were still able to go on a little hike, which the kids loved.  One funny thing about Ellie these days, is that she is obsessed with sticks.  Everywhere we go she collects as many as she can carry and is heart broken when she has to leave them behind.  Often times she is so loaded down with sticks she can hardly walk.  She comes in pretty handy when you want to make a fire!

 Our Hudson boy turned 4!!!!

I cant think of anything more worth celebrating then being able to have our wonderful son for four fun filled years. He is such a good boy, and it has been a joy to watch him grow and learn more every day.

It was an all day celebration, with chocolate chip pancakes, games, presents, blue train cakes, and a pizza party dinner. Grandma Wendy got to come and share the big day with us. Hudson told us it was the best birthday ever and hasn't stopped talking about when he will get 5th birthday yet.

We took a trip to the nearby Altoona Horseshoe Curve, and historical train museum. It was really neat to see the trains pass through the 220 degree arc, and the historical museum was really interesting as well, but of coarse the kids were just thrilled to get to see all the new and old trains. 

I think it is safe to say Hudson was most impressed by this enormous train table in the gift shop.



Riding the tram up to the top of the curve.

Hopefully this one learns to love trains as well! 



Much thanks to Gram Wendy for coming to visit us and helping us out so much.  She took the kids on adventures and kept them entertained.  She also took turns with Autumn at night and let Jake and I get caught up on a little sleep. Jake and I even got to go on a couple dates thanks to her willingness to baby sit.  More then anything it was just nice to have her around.  I'm sure missing all of our family back in Utah right now. 



Snuggle Up

Typing with one hand is pretty tedious; and these days at least one of my hands always seems to be holding a baby, a book, or a train. So, the writing portion of my blog will be considerably shorter.  Autumn is now two weeks old.  She is doing great, although during the day when the house is full of tons of noise and commotion she escapes the chaos by sleeping. Then at night when all is still and quiet she decides its time to be awake and alert, and NEEDY! Its not that we mind loving on our little girl, we adore her snuggles and seeing her pretty eyes taking in the world around her.  Its just that at one in the morning we also love to sleep.  We are trying to just enjoy it as much as possible, because we know that all too soon these sleepy snuggle days will be over, and we can catch up on our sleep then.  She is sure a sweet baby and since my only complaint is that she wants to be with Jake and I at night I know we are very lucky.

Life has started to fall back into a routine and it feels good.  The three kids and I have been making trips to the park and trying to soak up a little sunshine since it has finally decided to return.  I have even made it a whole week without crying so either the sunshine is helping or my hormones are finally leveling out a bit.  We took Autumn on her first hike on Saturday. It was so fun to get out as a family again.  The trail led to a train track and Hudson and Ellie thought it was the greatest thing ever. 

First Week

Well, we have made it over a week of being home with little Autumn.  Fortunately we had Grandma Andrea here to help us through.  With as tired as I have been this week with all her help, I'm scared to even think about what it would have been like without her. We are all so grateful for her help.  Not to mention how much fun it was for the kids to get to play with their Powell Grandparents. 

Here are some of my favorite photos of the week:  



I wonder what she was dreaming of.





Nothing better then a Grandma




Go Aggies!
The kids had so much fun with their grandparents.
  They had a football party, and slept over at the hotel with them.  They loved wearing out Grandpa Gary.



After lots of begging we finally let Hudson hold Autumn for the first time.
He is such a sweet older brother!



On Sunday we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and no one was more sad to see them go then me.....except maybe Autumn. The kids had been so happy to have grandparents here they didn't pay a whole lot of attention to her.  Almost as soon as the Powell's walked out the door the kids attention focused on Autumn. They want to share their favorite blankets and toys with her, and give her lots of loves.

 She is going to be one tough little girl!

Autumn Jane Powell



Just an hour and a half past her due date.



Already a Daddy's Girl!




She is such a sleepy thing, we rarely get to see these pretty eyes.





Someone made and donated these blankets for all babies born on game days. It sure was a lucky day,
we even won the game.





Big brother and big sis were so excited to meet her and come bring us home!




Getting ready for the ride home.




Big fans of Mommy's magic bed. The buttons kept them entertained while we got ready to leave.



Baby Autumn had a present waiting for them......puddle jumping boots. They were so excited.



She is just sweet as can be and doing all the things she is supposed to.  She has a soft girly cry but we rarely get to hear it.  She couldn't be more perfect and we couldn't be happier to have her!!!

Any Day Now

So, this pregnancy expires before the milk in my fridge. The next time I post on this blog will definitely be pictures of our new little one. I thought I would post a few last photos of Autumn and I together before the big day.  Its crazy but I have to admit that a little part of me feels sad that this pregnancy is almost over. I'm not exactly sure why. I'm not going to miss the heart burn, the kicks to my ribs, or the sleeping with six, yes six, pillows in an effort to try and get comfortable. There is just something so special and spiritual about the whole thing that is hard to explain. Jake and I took a tour of the hospital a few days ago and seeing the other babies in the nursery has made me feel very ready though.  More then anything, I can not wait to see her and kiss her sweet little face.  The kids are getting very excited to see her as well.  The bags are packed and the nursery is all set up, so all that's left is just to wait. 

 The past few weeks Jake has been really busy with school, so we haven't been on as many adventures lately.  The warm weather has disappeared and we have had lots and lots of rain.  We have played at the park in the rain more then a few times and the kids have loved every minute of it.  Hudson is still loving pre school and his teacher tells me he is doing well and loves to share his insights with the class during their lessons.  I wonder if that is just a nice way of telling me he talks a lot. She seems to really like him though, but whats not to like?!? He is a great boy. He is also really enjoying his music class that he attends once a week.  Ellie is loving life and keeping us laughing every day. She thinks everyone in the world is her friend and says hi to every person she sees. I think her hair has finally stopped falling out to my relief. I was worried she was going to end up looking a little too much like her daddy :).  If I didn't mention is earlier her hair has been falling out the past few months due to a really high fever that required a trip to the ER. She doesn't seem to mind and is actually probably happy that it has gotten too thin for me to style, but this mommy has been pretty stressed about it.  As I mentioned earlier Jake has been really busy and the kids have missed him a lot. I think we just got spoiled having him around so much during the summer. He was busy then as well, but we were able to tag a long with him on most of his research trips. When he is home he is always good to have fun and play with them even though I know he is tired.  I got released from the primary and felt a little lost at church on Sunday without it, although I'm sure it will be fun to get to go to relief society as I get used to it. I've been called to the compassionate service board and I'm excited for the opportunity to do more service.  It will also be a much more convenient calling to do with a new baby.

I haven't been very good about taking pictures the past few weeks. But here are a couple of cute shots I got of the kids this morning. It will be fun to add some pictures of Autumn next time. Until then.......

School Days

I really could not figure out why everyone kept asking me if I was sad Hudson was going to school.  He has wanted to go ever since Jake went back to school a year ago.  I have been so excited for him to be able to go and have this experience, because I knew he was going to love it.  I was also excited that it meant that I would have two mornings a week that I could really focus on Ellie.  However, the night before I started to feel a little anxious, and when my little Hudson boy burst into my room very early the morning of his first day of school, I have to admit I felt like my heart was in my throut.  I felt pretty emotional all morning as we got him ready to go. He must have sensed my state of mind because he came up to me and put his arms around me and sang me the primary song "I often go walking". At that point I lost my strength and let big tears roll down my cheeks and soak into his yellow shirt.  Jake gave him a very special fathers blessing and he floated out the door to wait for the bus.  I don't know if I have ever seen him so excited. We waited anxiously for the bus to arrive and the only person who was sadder then I was as the bus drove away was Ellie.  She cried from the moment he got on the bus until it was out of sight.

    

I was anxious the entire time he was gone. I wasn't really worried about him, I knew he was fine. I just could not find enough things to do to fill the time until he came home. I watched the clock pretty close and once again Ellie was the only person happier then me to see his bus pull up. Of coarse he had a great time. He talked non stop for a while and told us all about his day. He loves his teacher and had fun with his new friends. Today he woke up just as early and just as excited to do it all over again.

It’s so strange to be excited and sad for your children at the same time. I love watching him learn and grow and achieve new things, but so often I feel like I am holding onto sand that just keeps falling through my fingers. I love him so much just as he is, but I know he can't stay little forever. He is such a wonderful sweet boy. The thought that someday he won’t want to hug me tight and sing me songs is enough to leave me sobbing on the couch. I'm so thankful for my Jake, because even as hard and exciting as it is to watch Hudson grow; I know as he does, he will have a wonderful example to show him how to be as good of a man as he is at being a little boy. I sure love my boys.