Coronavirus

Well that escalated quickly...

This explains the last month so well. In February we were hearing a lot of reports about this crazy virus attacking China and spreading across the world, I never would have imagined we'd be in the situation we are now.

Then it hit the US and people started stock piling toilet paper and food. We did stock up a little more on some essentials, but we also had a freezer full of meals (thanks to nesting and my parents gifting me a freezer meals instant pot class for Christmas to prepare for baby coming) and just some general food storage. We talked to the kids about good hand hygiene and all that. With a new baby at home during RSV and Flu season we were being careful anyway.

All of a sudden it got real. On Wednesday March 11, the NBA cancelled all their games after a Jazz player tested positive for the virus. That's when it really hit me that life was getting crazy. On Thursday we got news that the church had suspended all church meetings world-wide. I'll admit, a tiny amount of panic started to set in for me. I called my parents and asked for some reinforcements to watch my kids (I'm not taking Lila out anyway) so I could run to the store just to get fresh milk and produce and stuff in case things really shut down. I sent the kids to school on Friday, but by the end of the day I decided I was going to keep them home from school for the next few weeks regardless of what the schools decided to do. Then Friday afternoon Governor Herbert made the announcement that all schools were closed for at least two weeks, with kids learning online from home.

Honestly, on Tuesday I never would have guessed that by Friday afternoon all that would be shut down. It all happened so fast.

So here we are, in the middle of a global pandemic and being asked to incorporate "social distancing" to slow the spread of the virus. We are trying so hard to do this- no playdates with friends, only going out for groceries when absolutely necessary, and schooling at home. For extroverts like myself and my kids, this is HARD. We are really trying to make the most of it. I'm trying to enjoy the bonus time with all my kids at home. My boys are playing with each other all day long ( like they have a choice?). We are getting lots of quality family time. And the boys are being absolutely champs at doing their school work from home.

Here's what our typical day looks like now- everyone is up by about 7:00 (it not earlier). We get ready and eat breakfast and get jobs and piano done, maybe at a slower pace than normal, but we do try to be fairly efficient. Most days we go out on a long walk/bike ride around 9:00. I push Davis in the stroller and babywear Lila. The boys ride their bikes.

Then we head home for school time. The boys are fairly independent about their work. Hudson needs a little more help, Chase does his almost 100% on his own. All that he really needs from me is reminders to keep moving through his subjects. We try to be done with school by lunchtime.

Then it's lunch and naptime for Davis/Lila/Me and screen time for the boys. I decided early on to not try and win any parenting medals during this time. This is all exhausting. I'm still up with Lila several times a night. So I'm going easy on myself and they watch screens in the afternoon.

After naps we try to go outside to play. This is my favorite time of the day. When the weather is nice we are outside and I'm more and more appreciative every day of a our yard. We've been riding bikes, scooters and skateboards. The boys play basketball, tennis or baseball. They run around. Do sidewalk chalk. Play with sticks. Life feels almost normal, except that we should have extra little ones running around with them! These kids miss their friends!

And then things feel normal as we have dinner together as a family, baths, scriptures, read stories and put kids to bed. I go to bed every night exhausted, knowing that the challenges of raising four kids and not only having to be my normal mom/chef/housekeeper/story reader, but also the teacher/piano teacher/entertainer, etc. (Oh yeah, I started doing piano lessons with Hudson in the middle of all this). It has been a crazy time!

Just a whole slew of pictures of our time in quarantine!

 I've been sending all three boys out to play while I'm busy with Lila or cooking or something, with explicit instructions to keep Davis in the backyard (or watch him closely in the front yard). One day I came out to find Hudson had rigged his bike lock to keep the gate closed- I was so impressed!

 This cherry tree is a favorite climbing tree. Davis is always just mad he can't get up there too.

 My cute kids on St. Patricks Day! We kept things simple, but Lucky the Leprechaun did come dye our milk green! We had green breakfast (green pancakes and green smoothies). We had green lunch (cucumbers, grapes and celery) with a side of Lucky Charms.

 A few days after quarantine started we had an earthquake! It came at 7:00 am (Oh and Ben was in Houston at the time for work). I was nursing Lila in the rocking chair and the chair just wouldn't stop rocking. It was a little unnerving. Davis was right there in the room with me and honestly by the time I figured out we'd had an earthquake it was over- we didn't even run for safety! It woke Chase up and Hudson slept through it. I had a little talk with the boys about earthquake safety and how to get to a safe place if another one came- also with instructions if they were in the in the room with Davis or Lila to grab them and bring them to safety too.

I walked downstairs a little later to find Hudson doing his schoolwork UNDER the kitchen table, just in case another earthquake came. And Chase had his computer and was doing his schoolwork right next to where Davis was playing, so he could get Davis to safety just in case. Even though I told them extreme measures weren't necessary, they were definitely spooked. Hudson wrote in his journal that he was scared and asked if we could pray (we did). Chase never vocalized fear, but got a bad stomach ache that day. It was just really heavy- no school, adjusting to this new life of social distancing, and then an earthquake hit. It was a big week.

The next day Hudson was holding Lila while I put Davis down for a nap. I found him with Lila UNDER her changing table- in case of another quake. Oh my sweet boy! He gets anxious about stuff like this and he's a very protective big brother! He prayed for weeks after that we wouldn't have another earthquake.

 During this time of homeschooling, we've tried to incorporate more fun things. I taught the boys how to make french bread- in fact they did this almost entirely themselves while I directed from a nearby chair while nursing Lila!

 We did art via a YouTube video of Mo Willems teaching them to draw the beloved Pidgeon.

 Nana brought us these shapes- originally planned to keep Davis distracted during school time (which they do) but the big kids play and build with them even more!

 Chase asked if we could have a fancy dinner and crack open some sparkling cider! It's the little things.

 We made cinnamon rolls one day! I think the boys got an appreciation of how much work they are!

On week three of quarantine it was technically our spring break. Life wasn't much different except we didn't have to do schoolwork each morning. The weather was also kind of crummy, so we just did our best with what we had to work with. We had movie nights every night. And one day we grabbed Nana and went on a hike! It felt so nice to be out in the fresh air. Davis is the best little three year old hiker ever. And Hudson said, "I haven't felt this good in years!"

 This whole thing has been a huge adjustment- as if one life change wasn't enough with adding Lila to the family. There have been a lot of tender mercies during this time. Lila is such a sweet baby. I'm so thankful for her sweet temperament during this time. I'm thankful she came so early and I wasn't dealing with immediate recovery during this crazy time. I'm also so thankful that we are all healthy, that we have a beautiful, spacious home to stay in, that we have technology to help us stay connected with our family and friends.

Davis Turns 3!!!!

 This fiery little redhead turned 3! Although if you ask him if he's three, he'll say "Nope!" I'm not sure how old he thinks he is- I can never get him to answer me.

His birthday was very low-key this year, especially since Lila was only 2 weeks old and his parents were exhausted. But we did celebrate with pizza and cake on his birthday, let him blow out some candles, and he opened a few little gifts from us. Earlier that day we went to a park (and his well child check at the pediatrician). I tried to give him some extra love and attention that day. Even though his actual birthday wasn't that extravagant, we love this kid more than words can say!

We celebrated his birthday with my family the Sunday before- for both him and Papa. Nana made pies and they blew out their candles together. 

Some things about 3 year old Davis:

• His favorite color is undoubtedly RED. Orange is probably his second favorite.
• He's obsessed with all things Lightning McQueen. He plays with those cars all day long and loves watching the shows.
• He's speaking more and more English all the time, but it's still intermixed with his little Davis language.
• Because of this, and his energy level and desire to jump all the time, we think his spirit animal is Tigger.
• He's obsessed with his daddy. He lets me know frequently that he'd much rather have daddy around than me. 
• He says "what's up?" all the time when he greets someone.
• His favorite foods are definitely BREAD, pizza, cookies, and ice cream. He's actually a decent eater for a toddler and will drink a green smoothie every morning, eats apples as long as they aren't sliced and I let him have the whole apple, likes grapes, and sometimes eats broccoli, peppers, carrots, cucumbers and salad. 
• He loves to play with friends- his favorites are Mark and James Bacciocco, Oliver Joseph, Will Hickman and Rockwell (Rockell to Davis) Shaw. He tries to escape to their houses whenever we are outside.
• Loves to play outside- loves to ride his trike, bike and scooter. Also loves a good pile of dirt to dig and play in.

This little boy is just the best! He is so full of life and excitement all the time. He is so happy almost all the time, so stubborn and determined if he wants something, and makes me laugh all the time. We love our little Davis Jack!

The First Few Weeks with Lila

It's been almost a month since Lila was born and just as it always does with a newborn- time passes so quickly! And at the same time, we can't imagine our lives without her. We've had so many precious memories and moments so far with Lila in our family, I'm going to try to record just a few (in the few minutes I have left in naptime!)

Lila's first few days home gave me a few little things to worry about- jaundice being one of them. Her levels were borderline in the hospital, so we were told at discharge on Friday to follow up with her doctor on Monday. Over the weekend she was eating fairly well, but not having as many wet and messy diapers as we'd hoped, so I continued to push her to eat more and at the suggestion of my NICU nurse friend Shelley, got her some sunshine through this window. Chase was more than happy to help hold her there! 

 Davis, overall, has done awesome with the adjustment to not being the baby anymore. Especially since he was in serious denial that a baby sister was even coming, he's exceeded our expectations. The first few days he got a little nervous about his daddy holding the new baby, and insisted on being held as well (although he was fine to share the lap with Lila). I snapped this photo of one of his more concerned moments (they were short-lived).

 I have loved dressing her just as much as I expected to! I love picking out her little outfits and matching a bow to it every day. This little pink outfit is one of only two things I bought her in newborn size right after finding out she was certainly a girl (the other one is her lemon outfit she came home from the hospital in). I expected her to be bigger and grow faster, but here we are a month later and still wearing newborn size clothes! Luckily we've received lots of hand-me-downs from Nora/Anna/Rosie, so she's had lots of darling newborn things to wear!

 The big boys have wanted any chance possible to hold her- before school they both sneak in a little baby time. Chase said to me one day right after she was born "Mom, thanks for enduring 9 months of pain and suffering so we could have Lila in our family!" (Unrelated- do you think I was maybe a little whiney while pregnant?)

 We took her back to the doctor at 5 days old to have her bilirubin checked (which was totally fine) and I also had the doctor check her tongue. I noticed the day before that she was tongue tied- and she definitely was. The doctor clipped it, which was actually much easier and smoother than I thought. Lila handled it great, bled only a tiny bit, and nursed immediately afterwards like it was no big deal. I'm glad we caught it early, it was SO attached- like all the way to the tip of her tongue!

 One day I asked Hudson to hold her while I did dishes or something and he responded with a huge smile, rubbed his hands together and said "Bonding time!" He's definitely bonded!

 When she was a week old we spent a morning over with Papa just to get Davis out of the house for a bit. Papa had a cold so he wore a mask to protect Lila. I love how tiny she looks in his arms.

 My view- all day long. I rarely set her down.

Lila and Rosie! Crazy what a difference 5 months can make. Sometimes I feel a little sad for Lila that she'll likely never get a sister- but I'm so happy she has this darling cousin! I missed my girls trip with my cousins because it was the weekend before Lila was born, I love my relationship with them so much (especially Kelly) and I'm so glad Lila has Rosie to grow up with! Fun fact- Anna and Davis are 5 months 7 days apart. Rosie and Lila are 5 months 9 days apart! 

 I love having a daughter so much! I really expected baby #4 to be another boy (which would have been great!), and my whole pregnancy it seemed so surreal that a baby girl was actually coming. This girl is a dream come true- I love her so much!

 Ben and I are working on changing around our language- not just referring to "our boys" but "our kids" or "the boys and Lila". It still feels kind of weird. We've been parents to just boys for so long! Ben tells her every day how gorgeous she is- she really is the most beautiful baby!

Hudson, who has been a self-proclaimed "baby expert" ever since Davis was born, has continued to hone his skills. If he's holding Lila and she starts to fuss, he very calmly starts problem solving. He'll cover her with a blanket (as seen in the photo), offer a binky, pat her back. It's really amazing to watch a boy so young be so good with a newborn!

Davis now wants to hold Lila ALL the time. If I set her down, he tries to pick her up. Even once he's holding her (under my careful supervision) he tries to reposition her like it's nothing (while she grunts in protest). Even though it's a little scary and I have to watch him like a hawk (I've caught him IN the crib trying to "help" her), it's the sweetest thing I've ever seen! Lila is so lucky to have these awesome big brothers!

Every morning Davis comes into my room and asks "Where's Lila?!" He checks the bassinet, my bed (he hasn't figured out yet that we've moved her to her crib at night- I don't really want him to know lest he sneak in there while we are sleeping!)

I haven't been to see my grandma in forever, so I packed up Lila and Davis one morning and headed there. It was sweet to see Grandma hold Lila, (she loves tiny babies) and Davis was fairly well behaved, especially since Grandma had chocolate for him.

At her 2 week appointment she wasn't quite back to birth weight (7 lbs 3 oz) so they asked us to come back in a week just to make sure her weight was gaining appropriately. I was a little surprised she didn't gain her birthweight back because she seems like a great eater most of the time! And she rarely spits up (so far- all the boys were major spitters, so we'll see if she stays that way). We went back a week later and she'd gained 5 oz (with 4 oz gain being the goal) YAY! So we don't have to keep going for weight checks! Hopefully she'll continue to gain well and we won't have the stress of an underweight baby like we have before with all the boys.

One day Davis brought in his beloved blanket and Bei Bei and set them next to Lila as a gift- if you know Davis these are truly two of his most prized possessions. This type of offering is a big deal for Davis- a sign that he truly loves Lila so much.

After years of blue outfits, I'm loving all the pink. Although, this little blue outfit is one of my favorites on her.

Caught mid-sneeze

One amazing part of welcoming this sweet new baby into our home has been the outpouring of love and service from our family, friends and neighbors. Our ward arranges two meals after a new baby is born- so we had those and then 9 more from sweet friends who insisted on helping out! I didn't cook a thing for 3 weeks after she was born. Both sets of grandparents have been so sweet to feed us, play with the boys, take them on special outings, whatever we've needed during this transition time. So many sweet little gifts for her have been delivered (she has a seriously awesome wardrobe and so many cute blankets and stuffed animals). Almost every day I get a text from a random neighbor letting me know they are heading to the store and wondering if I need anything. I'm behind on thank-you notes because there have been so many to write- truly a testament to the wonderful community we are part of! I'm so thankful for each gift and meal and act of selfless service, what a way to welcome a new member to our family! She's obviously so very loved by us, but having a whole community loving and serving our family is humbling.

This was on my dad's birthday with their now SEVEN grandchildren. My dad wanted nothing more on his birthday than to have his grandkids over for ice cream, so that's what we did! This little group of cousins is wild and hilarious- so much personality going on here!

Weeks after Lila was born I realized that right after Davis was born, Nate started referring to the kids as CHAND (their first initials) and suggested we kept going to spell out CHANDLER. Well, I hadn't even thought of that since, and then realized that in the last year we've added Rose and Lila, so we are only missing the E! Not at all planned or part of the name decision making, but kind of funny that it worked out.