ONE

My dearest Joseph,

   Today you are one. I cannot believe it! Baby boy, you are our whole family's pride and joy. You know, I prayed for you for a long time. I had to wait longer for you to come to our family than I wanted, but maybe that's how it was supposed to be. Maybe it helped me to cherish and love you that much more. A sincere longing in my heart and in my prayers was answered. Heavenly Father heard and answered me, His daughter. He answered me in the best way that I could possibly imagine; with a pure and gentle soul. I knew that our family was not going to be complete without another child, and that other child that I longed for was you.
   When you came into this world, I wasn't scared. I know it sounds strange, but I wasn't! I was with the first two, but I knew you were meant to be with our family. There was only peace and pure love in my heart, from the moment I laid eyes on you.
   Joey I want you to know how loved you are, not only from your father and me, but also from Lila and Brighton. I've never seen them adore, dote on, or love anyone so much as they do those things for you. Your sister and brother would do anything for you. Remember that in the future. They are people that you will always be able to rely on. They will always love you, for you are a part of their eternal family. They want to be with you forever and ever. They will always stand up for you, take care of you, and be by your side whenever you need them.
   Joey, you have brought the ultimate joy and happiness to our family. We were happy before, but I cannot describe how much you have exponentially changed the level of joy that we feel. We laugh more together, we play more together, we just love to hang around each other more. You did that. You brought us closer than ever. We always want to be around each other, because we always want to be around you. Your smile lights up the dark, makes our hearts swell, and reminds us of the everlasting love that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have for us. I want you to know how much They love you, as well.
   This first year of your life has been amazing. You've definitely given your father and I challenges in different ways than Lila and Brighton. You've also given us happiness in more ways than ever before. You had a hard start in life, like your brother, but just like him, you've grown strong and kind. I cannot wait to hear what you'll have to say when you really start talking. I'm trying to patient, but I'm very much looking forward to conversations with my baby. ;)
   I want you to know, Joey, that I have a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He died for me, as He did for you, but also remember that HE LIVES! He is our Savior and Redeemer now and forever. Because of the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, we get to live in this beautiful world and will one day return to a heaven unlike anything we can imagine. There we will have forever. Please stay close to Them. Please seek Them in your everyday life. Turn to Them always. Remember that YOU are a Child of God.
   Joey, thank you for being our son, our brother, our friend. Thank you for your incredible spirit. Thank you for bringing us closer to our heavenly family. Thank you for being you!

                                                                                                                  Love always,

  Mom

The birth story of Micah Joseph Pratt, Jr.

I woke up around 2:00 in the morning with some uncomfortable contractions. At the time I thought it was just Braxton-Hicks as I had been experiencing them most of my pregnancy. I knew that it was possible that I was headed toward real labor as I had just hit 34 weeks and that's when Brighton came, but I still wasn't quite ready to jump to that conclusion. I walked around my bedroom for a bit, going back and forth between my bed and the bathroom. Poor Micah could not sleep through my motions. Just after 3:00 I told Micah that I thought we should maybe take the kids to my mum's and then head to the hospital. Of course, we did not have the hospital bag ready to go. You'd think I would've learned from our experience with Brighton. I got in the shower, then prepared my hospital bag. We woke up the kids and got all of their stuff together to have a fun day at grandma's.

{Did I mention that I had a birthday party scheduled for them that day? Yeah... June 9th was supposed to be Lila and Brighton's combined "Magic School Bus" party at my mum's house. Thankfully, I had packed all of the stuff I would need in a bag the night before, so that it would be easy to grab everything and head to my mum's house to set up for the party. The little things, right? I'll blog about their party later.}

During the 4:00 hour I called my mum to see if my kids could come over and finish out their sleeping at her house. Of course, she said yes. By 4:30 we were on our way over. While driving there, my water began to break. At first I wasn't quite sure if it had broken or if the contractions were making it difficult for me to control myself. TMI, haha. With every minute passing by and with each slight movement in my seat in the car, I became more and more sure that my water was broken. This baby was coming today. We pulled up to my mum's house at 4:58, Micah ran the kids inside, then we sped to the hospital. Thank goodness it was in the middle of the night!

I felt bad walking into the hospital. There was a trail of fluid following me everywhere I went. The reception desk in the maternity ward had a puddle by them by the time I was done there. They checked me in and the next phase began.

I had hoped to have a VBAC again after my success with Brighton. Little baby boy was not having it, though. His sweet little arm was up over his head and his hand came down across his face. The nurses and doctor tried to move him around. They had me laying in different positions to see if he would budge, but he was firm in his position. Finally, the decision was made to have a c-section. It was nice that it wasn't an emergency like with Lila.

We went into the room to have the surgery and everything went fine. I felt pretty out of it again, like I did with Lila, but it was still a great experience. Before I knew it, our little guy was here at 8:18 a.m. Micah Joseph Pratt, Jr. was just as beautiful as can be. I cried the moment I saw him. I couldn't believe that our family was finally complete. I could just feel it in my heart that he was meant to be with us. You could tell which arm had been stuck on top of his head. The poor thing was a dark purple. Thankfully he could at least move it. The nurses said only time would tell if any problems would come because of it. (Later we knew that there were no lasting effects. It was just a giant bruise. :( )

     

He had some difficulty breathing on his own, like Brighton, and a few other problems, so I knew that he would be admitted into the Level II nursery. I struggled with my recovery a little more this time, as well. It took more than a day for them to get my blood pressure up. When I first saw him again in the Level I nursery, they wheeled me in on my hospital bed as I wasn't strong enough to even get into a wheelchair. I almost passed out while holding him for the first time, and threw up only a few moments after seeing him. I had to ask them to take him back before I dropped him. The next time I went in to see him, I was in a wheelchair, and a similar thing happened. I would pass out in my room while the nurses were in talking to me, but eventually everything evened itself out.

The rest of my time in the hospital went pretty smoothly. I knew the drill from doing things with Brighton. Pump in bedroom, get up and walk around to help me recover from the c-section, walk down the hall to see baby Joe, watch him in his bed, and occasionally get the chance to hold him, head back to my room and watch TV alone, then start the routine all over again. (The other kids didn't come the first day because they wouldn't have been able to see Joey)

It's pretty monotonous for me in the hospital because I can't have my babies in my room with me. The boredom makes me go a little stir crazy, so as with Brighton, I left the hospital a day before I had to, to get back to life. The hardest part was walking out those doors without my baby. I, of course, cried, but I also knew that he was in very capable and loving hands.

I can't believe it! He's finally here! Our precious little one that made our family whole. 💕

Welcome to the world, baby Joe!

Oh, my dear, Lila

Lila ate an entire pound of strawberries today!!!

I just had to post this... because that's crazy! Apparently she asked for some strawberries and started washing the whole box, so Micah decided he would just finish washing them and put them in a colander. He then set the colander out for Lila to enjoy a few berries, and continued on with his business. When he came back to check on her, he asked her where all of the strawberries had gone. With a perplexed look on her face, she simply stated that she ate them. Duh, dad! 

Oh, I love my little girl.

When Brighton woke up from his nap, he decided he wanted some strawberries, too. So for dinner, Lila and Brighton ate strawberries and carrots... well, at that point Lila only ate carrots.

What silly children we have!

Spring Break 2017

This year's spring break was very, very mellow. I LOVED it! I do really enjoy going out and doing things with my kids, but sometimes, I just need to relax. Most of the week was spent cleaning and decorating.

I did go to a Jazz game with my friend Brittnee. 14th row baby! Thanks, Emma! We had such a great time!!!

Here are a few of the things that I did this week to improve my home. :)

A bunny banner.

Faux etched glass... I might eventually really etch it, but I wasn't ready to take the plunge, so for now it's contact paper.

A reclaimed wood sign. Just to add a little farmhouse style to my house. I like farmhouse style, but I don't want everything that way... just a touch here and there.

A new scripture verse for my gallery wall.

I have many other plans to make stuff with a couple of friends from work. I'm excited! I'll be adding more stuff to the gallery wall over time. Oh... and hopefully we'll be getting a nice keyboard soon! Yay!!!

General Conference 2017

I always look forward to general conference. This time was no exception. I love hearing from the prophets, apostles, and other leaders of our church. I feel renewed, joyful, hopeful, and happy, as well as many other emotions. I want to do better! I know I can and will do better! :) 

The kids did pretty well. They're honestly getting better every time. I had some activities ready for them to help them to listen. They had fun. :)

This time was especially great because our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson announced that there will be a temple in Saratoga Springs! Yay! Yay! Yay! I seriously cannot wait. I know it's a ways off, but, YAY!

**I may come back to this post and talk about some of my favorite talks/thoughts. I encourage you to listen to and read from the talks as well. There's something there for everyone!