Coaching Lorin's team and the Cherry Blossoms at the break of dawn

 Coaching Lorin's basketball team was a very humbling and exciting experience.  I loved it!  I think Lor loved it!  I think the girls loved it!  But man, I have a whole new respect for coaches and their keeping their emotions in check--especially toward the refs!!

 Cor and I decided long ago that if we were going to get married at ages 19 and 22 and start having kids right away, we were going to stay young.  So, here we are just as the sun is rising on the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC with 5 children in tow.  We had such a great time!

Graffy boy and mom

Great Falls National Park

Kel and Bry came to VA!!

Coaching Lorin's team

Easter

Cory took me to a Maroon 5 concert--Go Adam Levine!

Meeting up with an old MI friend, Sharon Thacker, in MD

Mom turns 33

 Jenn Iverson and I tying at the crazy New Year's Eve game...must pick up a paper bag on the ground with your mouth...nothing touching the ground but your feet.  Tear off a piece each time until nobody can reach it.  We basically licked the floor ;)

Something I've wanted for 13 years!!

Me and my baby, Decky.

Welcome to the World

 Declan LaMarr -- Little Brother

7 lbs 14 oz

21 inches

July 6, 2012

10:08 a.m.

My journal entry Aug. 28, 2012

I felt so strongly, moments ago, that I wanted to write about my sweet little Decky-Boy.  I was just finished changing his diaper and cooing at him.  The love that welled up inside was astonishing and I told him that Heavenly Father gave him to me and how lucky and blessed I am.  One of my tears spilled on to his cheek and I wiped it away and then we chatted some more.  I could not feel more love than in that moment it seems.  I don't want to forget the bits and pieces that revolved around his birth and these first 2 months.  Here are some of the stories.

(Left) The last link of the paper chain Izzy made to count down Declan's birth--it started in the 60's I believe.  And on the right, Grandma Kofoed came to help and spoiled us in the meantime.

AWARD #1:  Yes, even beating out Lorin, Declan gets the award for the most kickingest baby en eutero!  At 16 weeks along I started feeling him move and for the next 24 he didn't stop.  Whenever I wanted reassurance that he was still healthy and strong I simply had to stop my own movement so that I could feel his.  Of course I was rocked to sleep all night long every night.  No complaints, though, the baby kicking is my favorite part of being prego.  He probably thought he owed me since I continued to play basketball (ward basketball mind you--extra crazy) and attend my gym step class all the way through.

AWARD #2:  Yes, even beating out Graf (who took 14 hours to deliver), Declan gets the award for getting Mommy the most exhausted!  This is not because of the length of labor, rather the following:

*Exactly a week before Declan's birthday, Virginia was having a record-breaking heat wave and then on top of that we had a crazy storm that lasted for a half hour and knocked out all the power for the next 5 days.  We thought of skipping town, but what if Declan comes early?  So instead we tried to avoid the house as much as possible.  Thanks to Katie Baird's pool we didn't die of heat stroke.  Alas, we came home every night to sleep in our house-turned-oven.  By the second night we were sleeping in the basement on Cory's old high school bed (9 MONTHS PREGNANT) and by the 4th night, that was no cooler than the upstairs.  We lost hundreds of dollars worth of food (except the stuff I took to the church freezer...shhh!).

*Finally the power was back and it was the 4th of July!  Morning parade, late night fireworks, contractions!  For the next night, day, and night, I had contractions...not consistent...not always painful...not worthy of heading in early, but strong enough to lose a night's sleep.  Then in the middle of the night of the 5th, just hours before my planned induction, the contractions really heated up and for hours I labored...waiting for them to get closer together.  Meanwhile, they were super painful.  Finally at 5 a.m. (a whole flipping hour before I was suppose to be there anyway) we went to the Emergency Room having to stop every 7 minutes to breath through a contraction.

*The good news, Declan was born by 10 a.m. which caused Grandma to win the bet against Cory that I would have him within 5 hours.  The doctors and nurses called us their "pro's" with everything happening so smoothly and knowing it was #5 for us.  I guess I'll give him Award #3:  Only baby, even beating out Izzy, not to need Pitocin to get my body to move!

Then commenced the lovin' of Declan.  Decky-Boy.  Deck-Deck.  Lorin's "night in shining armor."  Izzy's "choot baby."  Ryan's "sweet little buddy."  Graf's "where Deck Deck go?"

 

You might be asking...

 DO WE EVER GET ANY WORK DONE??

The Strattons came to visit for their spring break...drove 22 hours just to see us!!!  Well...and Arlington Cemetery....

 

and the Potomac River at Mount Vernon...you get the picture :)

 Cory and I decided it would be really cool to hit the Cherry Blossom Festival at sunrise.  So we got up and packed our family out the door by 6 a.m.  Do you see that beautiful sunrise??  Yeah, neither did we...overcast!  Despite that minor set-back, we had the best time together!

 For our Spring Break we went down to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown.

 We also did Busche Garden's Theme Park with the Bairds while we were down there.  What a scream!!  I got to take Izzy, Ry, and Graf in my prego state and they couldn't have had more fun!  No lines in little Dino Land and I just requested they let the kids stay on the rides over and over and over.  No complaints there!

 I was surprised they let Graf on this one...he was too...not the happiest experience for him!

I wish I could have gotten some sound bites and shots of Lorin and Cory hitting the big-time rides!!  Adrenaline junkies at their best!! :)

 OK...so the work part...I put my pregnant self over the Forestville school talent show!  After months of detailed planning we pulled it off...IN OVER 4 HOURS.  According to the people who've lived here forever, that is normal.  It ended up being a fun show and the kids were proud of themselves!

 Lor (Ruffian), Izzy (Rapunzel), and Ry (Flynn Ryder) did "We've Got a Dream," from Tangled and I dare say it was the best talent of the night :) (proud mommy).  They sang out loud and clear, added lots of fun actions, and looked adorable all costumed up!  Each of them had a solo that went along to a soundtrack--it took a good 3 weeks of practicing regularly to get the timing down.  It was great to see them nail it after their hard work!