New Baby Brain

Oops! It was brought to my attention that I didn't actually use Raisin's name and so those that voted in our name poll don't know which one won! Blame it on lack of sleep please! OK, he is Grayson Dale. He was born April 9th. He was 8 lbs 10 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Labor was only 17 hours this time, WOOHOOO!

Cheeky Babes, Hot Sun, and Honors All Around!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, having a baby will do that to you and all, but having a #5 baby? Yeah, I'm just proud of the fact that he is only 2 months old instead of 2 years old when I finally have gotten around to blogging about him! The debut of the Cheeky Babe! He has a nickname, thanks to Jaden. He is called "Raisin" around these parts!! Upon meeting him for the first time, I looked at him and thought to myself, "I've seen you before!" I don't mean that he is a cookie cutter version of the rest of the kids, because he's not, but take another look at the pic I posted of him here, and then scroll down to the last post with the 3D ultrasound picture. Amazing isn't it!! He is a happy baby for the most part, very laid back (huge blessing, let me tell ya'!) Unfortunately for him AND me, he has reflux and the dairy protein sensitivity that Jaden had as an infant. No ice cream for me again, how sad!! We are fortunate that I recognized the signs and symptoms of the 2 problems right away. He and I didn't have to suffer through weeks of screaming, crying (both of us!), 2 dozen trips to several different doctors, 2 ER trips, several medications, a barium swallow test, and severe weight loss (Jaden's only, unfortunately). I am so grateful to be able to skip all of that, just because I recognized the same thing in Raisin. I guess you could say that at least there was ONE good thing to come out of Jaden's troubles. As far as looks go, I think Raisin is a hybrid child. He has Ethan's eyes and nose, but the other's chins (yes, I know, there are 3 or 4), mouth and jawline. For a Hutcherson boy, he has tiny feet!! I know, you all are thinking, "not possible!" and all, but really his feet actually fit on the little footprint card that they give you! First time that I don't have card with a bit of toe and/or heel missing from the print since Kaylee was born! I don't think Chubs will be a light weight though. Maybe his body spent all it's extra time growing those cheeks instead of growing his feet!

Well, school is out for the summer now too. As of last Friday, the kids are home full time. All of them. YIKES!! We started swim team a few weeks ago and now that school is out, the practice times have changed. We are fortunate that now the little boys and I are only outside for 30 minutes and that half hour is at 815 in the morning! So much better then the hour and a half at 530 in the afternoon that we had been spending at the pool for practice! Jake, Ethan and Kaylee have improved their swimming skills already, and I am hoping that they will be little fish before summer's through! I know, I know, how thick is the irony that it is MY kids that can't swim, right? I mean, I had chlorine running through my veins in high school!

Jacob did really well in school this year. He's a reader!! He LOVES it! He will do well in first grade I'm sure. He had a fantastic report card. He only needs to learn to tie his shoes. He has struggled with that and can't seem to get it down. Now that summer and flip flop season is here, we are going to have to make a point of having him practice. He and I will both miss going to Mrs. Pritchard's class. She is just the best! He's enjoyed having her as his teacher very much and I have loved being able to go in once a week to help out. Mrs P. is the best! Ethan also had a great report card again this nine weeks. 1 B and the rest A's. He has turned into quite the reader too. He read 174 AR points this year. He got a trophy from the librarians for reading more then 150 points. This from the kid who was in Title One (remedial) reading just last year! He is a number hound, math is his favorite subject and a strong point for him too. He loved Mrs Salot, his teacher and it showed in the effort he put into his work for her. Kaylee had a much better year. What a relief! Mrs Beazley, her teacher could not even believe that Kaylee had had such an awful year last year. She thinks Kaylee hung the moon. Kaylee made the All A average honor roll for the year. She also read a TON of AR books. She was also given a trophy for her efforts AND a $50 gift card to Books-a-Million!! She had the top AR score in the school at 387.4 points. I'm amazed. That doesn't include at least 2500 pages she read in books that are not AR books and therefore don't count! She'll be in middle school next year! AGH!! Help me now! Stay tuned for the drama of middle school age girls!

OK people, poll time!

Since it seems that Bryan and I are stalled out on names, I thought it would be fun to take a little poll of family and friends on names that you all like! I am going to list the names, first and middle. If the name has a ? after it, it means that no middle name has been thought of yet! Leave your vote (or even 2) in the comments section of the post!
Clayton Dale
Caleb Dale
Corey Dale
Carson Dale
Conner Dale
Dallin Curtis
Grayson Dale
Joesph Dale
Kyle ??
Lucas Dale
Marcus Dale
Spencer Dale
Tanner Dale
Zakary Curtis/Dale

Please note, my favorites (Quinn, Carter, and Riley) are absent from this list. As are some of Bryan's favorites that we have removed because the other one can't stand the name. Sigh. Oh, and one other thing, Curtis Dale is Bryan's dad and he is the only grandparent that doesn't have a grandchild with a middle name that was chosen for him. We would like to find something that works for both of us, plus goes with Curtis or Dale. No small task huh?

Artsy Kids, Anxious Babes!

Well, last night we went to the Colonial Heights Art Festival because Kaylee and Ethan both had artwork chosen to exhibit. Kaylee had 3 pieces up and Ethan had one. It's quite an honor for them to be chosen to have artwork displayed. They choose the top one or two from each art project completed with Mrs. Booty (yes, that IS her name!), the art teacher. All 3 elementary schools, and the middle school and high school submit their work and it gets judged. 1st through 3rd places are awarded for each age group (k-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) and category (photography, ceramics, paint, etc.). Kaylee brought home a 1st and a 3rd place! Ethan brought home a third place ribbon too! We are so proud of them! When the artwork gets returned I will get it scanned in and posted in the blog... you all will just have to wait anxiously till then!

On the baby update note, little one (still no name...) is doing well. He's out of room. He's head down still (yay!). And he's a bit on the big side. Something we already suspected since he LOOKS like Ethan did at birth! I am scheduled to be induced April 9th. That means that either my mom-in-law will share her birthday or my brother Ryan will share his if it takes more than 18 hours. I am not excited at the prospect of an induction. Only had one previously and it was a nightmare. I am thinking that we won't make it till the 9th anyway, seeing as how I have contractions all the time. In fact Wednesday morning they started and I had 12 hours of 5 minute apart contractions!

YAY!

Only good news at the doctors' today! Baby Boy has turned on his own... finally!! I think it happened just in the last day or two, probably about the time he dropped. Such a Hutcherson, waiting till the last possible second to do something! He looks good, heart rate is good, his cheeks are so chubby as you can see in the picture. I think we have a little Mini Me for Ethan in this one!

Hmmmmm...

Well, supposedly I have 34 days left till we get to meet our new little one (STILL as yet to be named of course! grrrrr), but I'm not so sure it'll be 34 days! As of yesterday, he has dropped. It took me 2 hours to do 30 minutes of errand running this morning. I am really slowing down! Good thing that Bryan came home yesterday from log warrior (training for his soldiers). He had been gone a week and I was just about done in. It's not like he has the time or energy to contribute TONS at home, after all he works 12-15 hour days or longer, but something about knowing he's coming home at some point helps a ton! He did so well at log warrior, his first as a commander, and I am proud of him. He is an amazing man, a wonderful daddy, an awesome husband, a great provider that allows me to stay at home with my wonderful babies, and a righteous priesthood holder. I. Am. So. Blessed!!

Sad.

Today is a very sad day. I just learned that my good friend, Clay Penrod, passed away unexpectedly last night. He was an amazing person and was always an example to those around him. I will miss him, but my heart just aches for his wife and kids that he left behind. I am so grateful that they have the gospel in their lives and I just pray that it brings them comfort during this horrible time.
My fondest memory of Clay makes me smile. During the summer before we began our Junior year in high school, Clay and his best buddies Rhett and Josh, decided to see how many girls they could take on a date during a week. It was too funny. They managed 2 or 3 dates a day! I was fortunate that 3 days after I turned 16, Clay needed another "date". He called and asked me to go out with him that evening. It was the best time! We bought and sold eggs. For those who don't have any idea what that is, it's a simple idea really. We split into two teams and we went on a scavenger style hunt. We went to the 1st house and said, "We are on a scavenger hunt and we would like to know if you have an egg you can spare." Usually after getting us to promise not to egg their house, most people gladly handed over an egg. We'd take it next door and, using a similar approach, "sell" the egg to the neighbor. We collected money that way and at the end of the designated time, the team with the most change won. We took the pennies and nickles and went to the local grocery store and bought generic ice cream and root beer, and plastic cups. We didn't earn enough money to buy spoons so we went and asked the stores deli for 8 spoons. They laughed at us, but let us have them. We took it all to the neighborhood park and had root beer floats. That was all a good time, but the icing on the cake for the evening was actually on the way home. Clay had a really early curfew, like 9 or something, and since he had driven his mom's van, he was trying to get a bunch of high school kids off the swing set and into the van before he was late. Finally he yelled and told them that he was leaving on the count of five. They all ran to the van and pile in. Problem came when the police car rolled around the corner just as a group of kids ran away into a waiting van. Yep. A no brainer. We got pulled over and Clay was so scared that he was in trouble for something. To be late AND have to explain a ticket of some sort was not going to go over well with his parents. He was beside himself. The police checked him out and asked what we were doing. Clay told him the ENTIRE story. Then the cop asked him if we had been drinking and Clay, in his nervousness, said YES!!! Then he offered the cop a root beer float. The cop was trying hard not to laugh and sent us on our way. I am pretty sure Clay was past his curfew that night!