Two of my favorite recent pics of Ethan

Things that have changed since Ethan arrived:

I realize that my previous post gives me every reason in the world not to be blogging, but at the same time, I should be documenting all the cool stuff so someday my Mama mush brains can look back and remember. :D Let's call this entry... "Things that have changed since Ethan arrived:"

1) We can fit our whole family in the van, but ONLY our whole family. The only people not in car seats are Geoff and I! Yep, that's 5 car seats! Emily graduates out of her booster when she turns 8 this May, but everyone else is either under the age limit or doesn't have enough stability in her muscles to keep herself safe with just a seatbelt.

2) Sleep is apparently somewhat optional. To be fair, he sleeps really, really well these days, but in the beginning, I truly forgot what it felt like to be rested. That wonderful thing that makes you forget labor in order for you to want more kids later, also helps you forget the extreme fatigue that comes from feeding someone whose stomach is the size of a walnut! :D I really can't complain too much, though because we just barely passed the 3 month mark and he has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now. :D

3) Kids as young as 5 can carry babies around. :D Emily pretty much always helps me if I ask and I trust her to carry him around quite a bit. Gracie on the other hand doesn't always wait to be asked, but LOVES to carry her baby brother around! I decided from the beginning that it would probably do more harm to freak out at her and yell and scream when she's only trying to help, so I try to keep my voice calm and level and she really does quite well. I do say to her, though, "If you feel like he's falling- sit down quick! " :D

4) We now have 3 different sizes of diapers in our house. When Becca started the diet, her liquid intake apparently increased because her liquid output definitley increased! A little TMI maybe, but we have been resisiting going up a size in diapers for some time now because once you get out of the sizes they sell at the store, you really have to rely on that home health to be on time. And if you've ever had home health deliver you anything, you know you have to really stay on top of things or you run out!! And not only that, but Ethan grows into a new diaper size roughly every couple of weeks it seems like! :D We literally fill up a tall kitchen garbage sack with just diapers every few days. I really hope Landon takes to potty training this summer... for my sake! :D

4) Our washing machine runs every day. I thought I was doing a lot of laundry before Ethan was born, but it is amazing how someone so tiny can get so many things dirty in a day! :D I ran out of OxyClean which is my stain remover of choice and I thought the world was going to end! Not on my favorite outfit of his! Someone! Anyone! My kingdom for some OxyClean! :D

5) Baths take a lot longer! Not only is there one more person's surface area to keep clean, but he is so cute and smiley that everyone in the house wants to watch him get a bath which makes him much harder to reach while scrubbing. :D I love me a good, clean baby, though! Boy, do they smell GOOD! :D

6) My ears are much more sensitive or something because every sound made when he finally falls asleep sounds like a sonic boom to me! I'm grateful for school and the fact that he got a lot of noise in the womb because he seems to do okay most of the time... but ask me on a day when he was woken up by fighting siblings and I'll tell you what's what!! :D

7) Our house is nearing nuclear explosion messiness. Now, I know Ethan is not MAKING the mess, but he sure makes it a ton harder to clean up! I mean, seriously! Hold a baby or clean up a mess? Is there really a choice there? :D We're getting there as the rest of the kids start taking on more responsibility. They actually do a really great job with good motivation and some really great cleaning tunes. Our favorite CD is the Shrek soundtrack. :D

8) It's a good thing digital technology replaced film cameras or we'd be running to get film developed every day! We have taken a lot of pictures of the new little guy and especially the new little guy with is very proud siblings. I can't get enough of he and Becca especially. I love to put him in the crook of her arm with her arm under his armpit. She will just roll to him and snuggle him all up and he is happy because she is warm. Sometimes she drools on his head, but we do plenty of #5 and honestly, what's a little drool between friends? :)

9) The weather seems exponentially colder with a baby around. It's one thing to bundle myself up, but I really have to stop myself from bundling him up TOO much. Sometimes I get where I'm going and pull him out and he's all sweaty from too many clothes on and too many blankets on top! :D

10) My heart has just expanded and stretched so effortlessly to include our new little man. I love being a Mom second only to being Geoff's wife. I want no other job and no other calling in life as much. We have so much fun together and we love each other so much and I wouldn't trade this for anything. I feel so incredibly complete and full and like everyone who needed to make it here, made it here safely. :) If I had tried to plan it all out, I couldn't have planned such a perfect placement for every child that joined our family. It's juuUUuust right! ;)

Baby Poll Winners!

It's the results show you've all been waiting for! Hopefully you all made it into the poll in time. If you'd like to peek at it again, just for fun, it will be HERE for at least a little while longer. We had fun reading everyone's answers and we hope you had fun guessing! And now, here are the long awaited results!

Date: Katherine F. picked the right day and was within an hour of the right time. Only three people picked the right date, Katherine, Craig and Sarah. He came early, the only one of our babies to do so, on September 19th. He was due on the 23rd and we were originally going to induce on the 22nd and then we changed our minds to the 24th. Obviously, he had his own plans! :D

Time: Emilee was only 2 minutes off. He was born at 9:11 am after a whopping hour of actual labor and 4 pushes! Apparently we are so awesome, he just couldn't wait any longer to get here! :D



Weight: Christie and James are tied and are only one ounce shy of the actual weight. He weighed a healthy 8 lb. 10 oz. and has way more hair than any of our other kids had... that's probably it, guys... you just didn't factor in for such luxurious hair! :D

Length: Craig, Leanna and Heather L. tied for being right on! He is 20 inches long... 21 1/2 with his basketball shoes on. :D



Hair color: About half of you said he'd have dark hair. What's surprising to us is just how dark it is! I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched, but maybe he will be the one and only kid I get that has hair like me... starts out dark and stays dark! Time will tell. :D

Name: Cheers to Grandpa Lee, Kelly, and James for picking our favorite name. We didn't know that's what we would name him until he got here and it just seems to fit! :) His middle name is Albert just like his Daddy and his Grandpa Sagers. We are aware that it makes him sound like a furniture company, but it's a really nice furniture company and we love his name! :D

Craig and James tied for most wins with 2 apiece! Way to go!

And for all the winners, you win a $10 Applebees gift card... just go on down to Applebees and give them $10 and they'll give you a gift card! Let us know how it turns out! :D

Pictures I Like

Here I am bending chicken wire in all my pregnant glory. :) I am determined to keep the birds away from my precious berry patch! Geoff and Josh built me this awesome screened in cover, but here is proof that I helped. :D My Grandma Lee always had raspberries and they always bring back the best memories! I worked hard this spring to move all of our randomly placed strawberries over there, too, so I have a little corner of berry heaven. You'll notice that my head is a little ways over the top, so it's interesting trying to bend over that far without falling because of my center of gravity shift. :D It's all worth it, though! We have had lots of yummy raspberries this year and I'm sure the strawberries will be back next year.

This made me laugh when I walked into my bedroom one day. Some cute little brownies had made my bed for me and not only that, but laid out our pajamas, too! :D Even funnier is that the body pillow I've been using lately, makes my nightgown look pregnant even when I'm not in it! :D LOL (P.S. In case you're curious, I made that quilt for one of my Laurel projects when I redecorated my room as a teenager. Peach is no longer my favorite color, but come on! I worked hard on that!) :D



This is such an awesome, spontaneous pic! Emily asked if Becca could sit down by them and she set everything up and sat next to Becca holding her up while they watched a movie together. It was really sweet and I just love how much they all love being together. I mean, they don't always want to be, just like anybody else, but they really do like each other. What mother could ask for more? :D I sure love you guys!!!!

Amelia Lucille

I may have mentioned before how much I love being an Aunt. It is one of my most favorite things in life to have extra wonderful nieces and nephews to cuddle and talk to and spoil. :) I love having built-in friends for my kids so when I am with my best friends, whom I also call my "siblings," our kids can play together while we hang out. So, all of my blog readin' buddies, I'd like to introduce you to Amelia Lucille...



Isn't she just the cutest?! This is my only brother's only daughter. :) She was born in June a little more than a year after Darrin married his "Miss Kelly," a Louisiana Southern Belle. (We all love her!) Unfortunately, Darrin's genes were a little bit bossy and Mia looks like his mini-me in a dress! :D Although, I think she has her Mama's mouth and lips. :)



This is kind of a weird picture of me holding her, but I like it because she's sitting up on top of my bump that will be her cousin soon. :D When Geoff takes my picture and I don't know it, he always catches me talking or about to talk. :D I know, shocking! :D lol



I think we overwhelm Mia just a bit when we're with her since she isn't used to so many adoring young fans, but we all love her SO much!! Landon loves her, but doesn't always want to touch her, which isn't a bad thing if you ask me! :D This was a rare thing to have him hold her, but you'll notice he's not really "holding" her as much as she is sitting in his lap. :D I couldn't find one in our files of Emily, even though she would hold her forever and never share if it were up to her! :) For more pictures, make sure you check out Darrin and Kelly's blogs about their beautiful girl!



I sure love you, Mia girl! I'm so glad you're here in our family. You may not always be bigger than your two boy cousins that are on their way this year, too, but I'm sure you'll be able to hold your own! ;) We all love you so much and we're so glad you're in our FamiLee!

Love,
Aunt Diana

Belly Shots

If all goes according to plan, this will be the last baby to join our family. On one hand, 5 is a really good size, especially with one as awesome as Becca. On the other hand, Becca will not be getting any smaller and she's quite a lot to lift and carry. And on the other hand, what could be more perfect than 3 girls and 2 boys? Everyone has a someone! That's plenty of hands for me, not to mention the Lord's hand that guides us in everything we do and we really feel very peaceful and fulfilled and blessed beyond our capacity to receive it sometimes. :)

In light of this final adventure, I decided that rather than hiding from the camera all the time, I wanted to document this last foray into the unique experience of carrying another life for 9 months. And besides, hubby got a new camera and it's fun to play with new toys. :) So, without further ado, here are some fun shots of me and my nameless little fellow who is due to arrive in about 3 weeks.

Gracie's First Day of Kindergarten

It was the day we had all been waiting for! Gracie's first day of real school! She had endured a whole week of big sisters going to school and it was finally her turn! Her way of showing her nervousness and excitement was to be a bit whiny during the first part of the day, but she ended up being the picture of confidence. We decided together to save the matching dresses for Gracie's first day instead of the older girls' first day. They are what we have decided to call 'casual dresses' and the leggings underneath make playground playing much easier and more modest. :)


By the time afternoon rolled around, Gracie was MORE than ready to go. She picked ravioli for lunch with grapes on the side. School is supposed to start at 12:40 and we were done eating at noon. I dawdled as much as I could and finally got ready to take her. We were WAY early to the school because she was standing ready at the door with her backpack dancing around. We walked down the hall and took her picture by her door and she was like, "Bye, Mom!" I had to call her back to get a hug! :D As soon as she was in the classroom and we started to walk away Landon was the one to burst into tears. He cried all the way back down the hallway and outside. I tried to get a picture, but he was looking back at the school. Don't mind my weird face in that one. :D


So, she's there and happy and I'm not sure what I feel. I mean, I'm okay because she was so okay with the whole thing. She's SO ready! I just know she's going to have a great time and I'm crossing fingers and toes that she obeys and is kind to those around her. But, I have a really good feeling that even though she has slip ups and says things she shouldn't sometimes and doesn't always follow directions, that she will learn to do everything and show everyone the sweet, wonderful girl she is inside. She will have fun satiating her curiosity by having another someone to ask Why? Why? Why? to and she will make great new friends. Kindergarten is going to be GREAT! :D

Snow Plows in August and the First Day of School 2009

I looked out the window and what did I see?
A snow plow plowing up my road, Yippee. (NOT!)

The road in front of my house is a huge disastrous mess, but someday it will be nice and smooth again. I have to walk to the back of my block to meet Becca's bus and we haven't been able to park in the garage for a couple of weeks now. But the Jeff-Foxworthy-look-a-like construction manager man told me today that they are laying down the sub grade, which appears to be the layer of compressed gravel right before the pavement comes. Being the Murphy's Law abiders that we are, however, our house has "soft spots" in the dirt layer that's out there now that need to be reinforced first. So, they are laying big huge sheets of metal mesh and then the sub grade and spreading that around with the snow plow* and then compressing it down with the roller mill car. How's that for technical jargon?! :D Anyway, we're getting there and I couldn't resist walking down the street to take a picture of the snow plow* for you! You should be grateful... after the day I've had today I'm surprised I could even still walk! :D The urge to pry off my belly and stick it onto Geoff for a little while was very strong today.

*In case you have never lived in the White Mountains of Arizona, they often use road graders as snow plows. In fact, I never saw them use anything else. In addition, there were trucks that would drop crushed, warm, red cinders (sometimes called volcanic rock) onto the roads already made from red cinders to help melt the snow.

Becca and Emily had a super great first day... as far as I can tell. :D We walked to get Emily and she waited for us under a different tree than we were waiting under and I thought we had a replay of last year when she walked home by herself on the first day. :D She had corn dogs for lunch and was proud that her shoes were still white. :D They got to bring a favorite book and she brought a big wildlife book that we got her for her birthday and she said the other kids said that if they owned that book, it would be their favorite, too. :D We decided together that Becca and Emily would wear their second favorite outfits today and save the super cute dresses and leggings their Daddy bought for them until it was Gracie's first day, too. :D Emily's shirt was kind of Hannah Montana-esque and had a little vest sewn on the front with printed designs. Emily learned today that some of the designs were peace signs and she said that almost everyone in her class had peace signs on their clothes or on their backpacks. Hmmm, how 'bout that! :D

After collecting Emily from her school, we walked to the park to wait for the bus. I walked half way between the jungle gym and the sidewalk and sat in the grass. I didn't want to have to waddle-run the distance when the bus came. We waited and waited and waited. Emily ran home to go to the bathroom and came back. Gracie and Landon played and climbed and slid and played some more. I talked to a lady who lived on the Navajo Reservation near the New Mexican border, but in AZ. She knows where Show Low is. :D We waited and waited and waited. Last year, Becca used to get home around 4:30 some days, usually 4:15, so as it passed 4:30 and I knew she must have been on the bus for an hour already, I started calling. The school put her on the bus okay, so I called the bus garage and, again, being the Murphy's Law abiders that we are, the bus came down the street at that very moment. :D Apparently, she had had a couple of extra kids today and then a boy had thrown a very big fit and broken one of the bus windows with his head! Yikes! Becca was safe and extremely happy, though, so we trundled off home.

Geoff ordered us pizza and we have kind of been taking it easy since then. I'm toying with the idea of bringing along a camp chair to the park tomorrow. Sitting on the grass and leaning back on my arms was only fun for a few minutes, if you know what I mean! :D So, anyway, here are some fun pictures of Becca and Emily's first day! :D Enjoy!! ;)

Landon's pic is also on Geoff's blog, but in case you can't tell he is holding a "Tato bug." :D He is actually quite careful with them and they can usually still walk after he sits them down. :D lol

Hopefully you can kind of see Becca's cute outfit. The colors are SO bright! :D It's little pink leggings with an orange skirt/shorts thing and a really bright yellow shirt. I'm not sure I would have picked it out had I done the shopping, but it is really quite cute. :)

Yes, that's a Pop Tart in Emily's hand... Geoff's Mom assured me that they have about the same nutrition as cereal and they are portable. :D

Stay tuned for more "first day" pictures on Gracie's first day of Kindergarten next week! ;)

Five Star!

Gracie has reached a QUINTessential milestone! She is 5 and will be going to Kindergarten in the Fall. Ready or not, here she comes! :D

How old is Gracie?!
(Btw, now that you've seen what I look like early in the morning, I'll have to shoot you!) :D

New shorts made by Mommy... she hasn't taken them off since! :D

Fun school supplies and candy from sisters, brother and Mommy and Daddy... there was also paper to practice letters on, pink pencils and more candy. :)

She was REALLY excited about the pretty hair decorations from Grandma and Grandpa Lee!

Grandma and Grandpa Lee know just what a new Kindergartener needs! A new back pack! And they packed it with fun things to do... stamps and ink and containers to organize everything in. I'm not sure how I'll feel watching the back of this back pack walking away from me, but for now it is super exciting! :D

This is Gracie the purple unicorn, perhaps you've met? :)


Baked by Mommy, iced by Daddy, blown out by Gracie, enjoyed by our nearest relatives...


Gracie, Bella, Daniel, Andrew and Landon.
Apparently, Andrew is super interesting. Your guess is as good as mine! :D


Karina, Emily, Becca and Gracie.

Happy Birthday, Gracie!
This next year is going to be full of so many new, fun things! We love you SO much and if you never forget that, you'll be alright. ;)

Landon's Two

Okay, so he's been two for a month, now... does it really matter? HE didn't yell at me for not blogging about him on his birthday, so I'll have no judgements from you either! ;)

It's July and it's hot and Mama is the size of a small hot air balloon, so we didn't as much GO anywhere as spend time together at home. :) These pictures are from the great 'opening of the presents' event that happens on Mom and Dad's bed on Birthday morning. Rest assured however that every picture of him you see posted here until next year is of him being 2. :D

He got a bunch of matchbox cars... individually wrapped of course... from his sisters and Mommy and Daddy.

Here's the unwrapped version.

This book is from Grandpa and Grandma Lee... his favorite page to date is the one with a big gerber daisy on it. He calls it a "thlower" and will turn the pages back and forth to find it. :)

This is possibly the coolest puzzle ever... also from Grandma and Grandpa Lee. It has different metal locks on each little wooden door. He can now do all but one all by himself and he does them over and over! :)

Happy Birthday, Buddy Boy! We sure love having you in our family!

(In case you forgot or are wondering where the Sagers fit in, I only have to look out my back windows to remember this.) :)

See you in the funny papers!

Tonight at dinner we were, once again, cajoling Emily into eating her food. Gracie seems to thrive on this and enjoys eating hers even if she doesn't like it that much, mostly for the bragging rights. One of our old standbys is to tell them that when they serve missions they will have to eat whatever is placed before them. After one such pontification directed towards Emily, Gracie piped up, "On my mission, you know what I'm going to eat? Cheetos, squid, ham-boogers and purple kool-aid!" I'm not sure where that is, but it sure sounds interesting!

Later on in the conversation, the girls and I were relating to Daddy our discussion from lunch. The topic was Wine vs. Water while taking the Sacrament. Of course, in Jesus' time they used wine as they did when the Church was first restored, or rather "grape juice." During lunch we had called Daddy and asked him, on speaker phone, when they had received revelation to use water instead of wine in order to avoid alchoholic beverages. Wanting to show off my smart, wonderful children and my smart, wonderful explanations I encouraged them to tell Daddy what we had learned about the whole thing. After a brief (and smart and wonderful) explanation mostly by Emily, Gracie said, "But where did they get the water?" To which our smart and wonderful Daddy replied, "They grew it in big fields... of water... some people called them lakes." I almost did a spit-take and was laughing so hard, it probably made the baby inside me feel like a milkshake. I could hardly breathe I was laughing so hard! I mean, it was funny! And besides, the girls just looked at him like, "Hmmm, okay, that makes sense." :D

Top this all off with a very spirited rendition of "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" complete with choreography of Irish step dancing caliber by Landon and you just experienced a Sagers Family Home Evening! :D

For Kimberly on her Birthday

This entry is dedicated to my sweet little Kimberly who is not so little, but still very sweet! Happy Birthday!!!

I still remember the first time this family called me and asked me to babysit. I knew they had an adorable dark haired toddler, but as it turns out, they had just adopted a baby boy. He was 2 weeks old and they wanted ME to babysit! I was over the moon!! The first few times, they came to my house so my Mom could be there to help me if I needed it. Kimberly was so bright and happy and cute. My Mom was so good at leading me by example, but she let me do everything. The first time I got to watch them at their house was super exciting and super scary! :D I remember heating up the baby's bottle too hot and trying desperately to cool it down and comfort him at the same time. But, I'll save my Bryce stories for another entry. ;)

I loved playing with Kimberly! She had such an imagination! We would play all kinds of games and she would make up the story and tell me the part I was to play. When they added onto their house, she got to pick things out for her room and was SO proud of her "girl color" carpet! They added a family room downstairs and 2 kid bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. We were playing some game we made up on the stairs when Kimberly shrieked and pointed from the top of the stairs where she was standing down to the bottom of the stairs where she was sure she saw a spider! I didn't see any spiders and thought she was making it up until I went down to investigate and found a spider on the front of the stair almost at the bottom. She must have had spider-radar to see one from that far away on the other side of the stair!! :D We used to play Nintendo games, too. There was a Chip and Dale one in which she was always Chip and always carried Dale (which was me) around upside down on her head! :D LOL It was just as well because I don't think either of us had much of a clue how to actually play, we just had fun laughing together. :)

My badge of honor in their house was that I was dubbed DiNana. I can't tell you how much I loved hearing that Kimberly was excited to have Dinana come over. I loved hearing her call me that and never encouraged her otherwise. :D I remember riding the late bus home from school one day and sitting by Kimberly (who was probably in about first grade) on the bus and when she got off she said, "Bye, Diana!" When I asked her about it later she thought it was SOOOO funny that she had ever called me Dinana. Sad, sad day for me. :D

Another one of my very favorite memories are connected to a beautiful white dress Kimberly used to wear to Church on Sundays. I used to love asking her questions and having her tell me what she remembered about going to the Temple to be Sealed to her new baby brother. Families truly are forever and never have I been taught by example how wonderful and significant joining a family together can be than by this one.

I can't tell you how many times over the years I have wondered what happened to my friends that lived in that cute little house. I have so many, many great memories of watching them and playing with them and even traveling with them to Mesa on an overnight trip. I have never been so grateful for Facebook as when I found them significantly more grown up than last time I knew them! :D Kimberly's girls look SO much like that gorgeous angel girl that I had so much fun with!

I hope you had an awesome birthday, Kimberly! I thought about you all day and had I known how to work the scanner better, this post would have actually made it out ON your birthday! I hope you know how much you are loved by me and how I treasure the memories of you and your wonderful family! Wouldn't it be awesome to be in the same place at the same time someday and get a really real hug? :D Here's a virtual one for now! ;)

I got these pictures probably about a year after I'd been gone. I never got to meet Weston, though I knew he was coming when I left! :) Tell me these kids don't have the absolute cutest grins ever in the whole universe? :D I sure love you guys!!

Oh, and did I mention that we are now preggo at the same time both with boys?! How COOL is that? :D

Rollerskating Babies

Campin'

When you put the terms "camping" "pregnant" "4 kids" "wheelchair" and "rain" together you wouldn't think it would add up to tons of fun! But it did for us. :) We were definitely "Hammon such a good time!" :D Geoff bought us an incredible tent that fits us really well! Click here to see pics. :) He also bought a second air mattress that was double tall and just what the Dr. ordered for a wife 'with child.' It rained very little and we had lots and lots of yummy food and way too much sugar to snack on in between. :D I got home craving more gum drops, cinnamon bears, licorice and s'mores than ever before! :D Our camera batteries died about the time we got to the campground, but Aunt Colleen and Uncle Greg took lots of really great pictures, so go check them out over there! :D I LOVE the picture at the top of this post because Becca is SO happy!! Aunt Glenda was standing close by telling her how pretty she is and she was just grinning! :D Yay! Way to go, Darin! Great pictures!!

I love hanging out with my family and we all just blend so well together. We all loved and helped each other's kids... roasted marshmellows for each other... kept the rain off each other... played card games until the middle of the night together... took pictures of each other. Throw in some Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers and cookies by the pound, Gossner's squeaky cheese and Aggie ice cream... put it all together and what have you got? A bunch of Super Awesome people Hammon such a good time!! :D

A Set of Swings

My wonderfully strong and innovative husband and his equally creative, generous and strong family built us a swing set! It's made out of 2 1/2 inch metal pipe and it fits 3 swings plus a tire swing. It's somewhere around 10 feet tall after cutting off about 2 feet off of each pole when we realized how humongous it was going to be! :D The tire swing isn't up yet, but with a small bean bag, that will make a perfect place for Becca to be and we may still make an inside out tire swing that would hold her kind of like a banana seat. For now, we jerry-rigged the baby swing into the third spot.

Geoff, his Dad and Josh working on the holes for the swing bolts.

The girls drew with chalk to distract them during the wait.

Daddy sat in the chalk while working on the swing set! :D

The first trial run! It rained most of the morning that we put this all up. Brudder's face says it all! :D

Thank You, Grandma and Grandpa for the awesome swings!!!

Apparently, Mama had the camera set to "blurry," but here they are in all their glory!