My Mother's Day and Birthday Present!

For Mother's Day and my Birthday I asked for lots of flowers to be planted in our front and back yard. My mom was in charge of planting the flowers, and the boys finally planted our garden. We started our seeds Conference weekend, but because we have had a crazy few weeks, we are just now getting them planted outside.

My yards look beautiful, and I especially love my new furniture for our front porch!

Thank you Mom, Kelly, Jacob and Ryan (and Laynie too) for making my Birthday and Mother's Day extra special!

Ryan's Kindergarten Musical

Ryan had his Kindergarten Musical this week. It was super cute! He has been practicing the songs for weeks and weeks. He told us that he was a little nervous, but you would never have known! I took video, but it was way too bouncy because I was laughing the whole time. The little girl standing next to Ryan kept trying to dance with him instead of with her own partner. Ryan's partner was upset because Ryan was not dancing with him. Such drama for kindergartners!

Who does she look like?

I can't decide who Laynie looks like. Sometimes I think Jacob, and sometimes I think she looks just like Ryan. The other day I walked up to her crib in the NICU and thought she looked just like Jess (my brother)! Who do you think she looks like?

Laynie Comes Home!

Laynie came home from the hospital Thursday. We are so excited to finally have her home with us! She is doing really well. Our biggest challenge is having to wake her up every three hours so that she can try to breastfeed, we can feed her a bottle and then I can pump. The whole process takes about an hour and a half, which means an hour and a half later it is time to start the whole ordeal over again. It takes up most of our day which is why . . .

I am so glad to have my mom here with us! When I called her to tell her Laynie was coming, she did not hesitate. In fact she was in Colorado less than four hours later! She has been such an amazing help. The boys love having her here, and in fact, like it better when Kelly and I are not! She amazes Kelly every day with her ability to have the clothes you wore that day washed, dried, and folded on our dresser before we go to bed that night. She has even offered to take the boys back with her to Utah in June so that they can have a fun summer vacation before they start back to school the first week of July. Thank you Mom, for all of your help. We love and appreciate you!

Sunbathing

I love this picture of Laynie because I think it is exactly how she looked inside of me (minus the sunglasses, oxygen tube, daiper, etc.). She was squashed between my two fibroids, one at the top and one at the bottom of my uterus. We still have not seen her straighten her legs!

The boys were so excited to hold Laynie for the first time. Ryan even had to dress to impress!

Laynie . . .

Just a quick update on Laynie. She is still in the NICU. With each Bradycardia she has, her five day count starts over again. So, she will now be in the NICU until at least next Wednesday. Despite the fact that she forgets to breath every once in a while, she is doing well. She is eating well, her Jaundice is improving and she is more awake and alert each day. We will continue to keep you posted!

Update on Laynie

Thank you so much for your well wishes! Laynie is a very cute baby with a strong personality. We can't wait to bring her home. She is in the NICU and will be there until at least Monday. She went into the NICU because of what the Doctor's thought was an infection, but is staying because she has had Bradycardia (slow heart rate that results in low oxygen saturation). Hopefully, the next five days will give her lungs and heart time to mature. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.

BABY STOHL HAS ARRIVED!!!!

We'd like to introduce...

LAYNIE LYNNE

She came a month early, but we couldn't be more excited. She weighs 6lbs. 10 oz. and is 19 inches long, and has a full head of hair. Jacob and Ryan were so happy to finally see their little sister. We promise more pictures soon.

My Love Affair with . . .

HAIR GEL! I know it may sound crazy, but even more than I love hairspray for my own hair, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hair gel for my boys! It's a good thing that they are so cooperative because I absolutely will not let them leave the house with out their hair gelled perfectly in place. That is why I suffered a serious breakdown when they stopped selling my favorite gel at Walmart. It took me many years to find the perfect gel and I couldn't believe that they would just stop selling it. To make a long (and boring to anyone but me) story short, after searching every store and pharmacy I passed over the last few weeks, I finally found the gel on the internet. Kelly told me it would be insane to order more than three bottles at a time (I definitely do not agree!), and when it came in the mail today, I felt such a sense of relief! So, you can all rest easier knowing my boys will once again look super cute with their perfectly styled hair (at least for then next month!).