Fun in the front yard!

I am so thankful that my nephews love to come over and play! Rocco got to take a great nap and Sara (my sister) and I had happy kids. 

Happy Rocco after a great nap

Camp Pendelton Mud Run

Gianna participated in the Camp Pendelton Mud Run with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood. It was a fun experience and one that we will most likely do again.

Birth Story of Rocco Bear Feliccia

My last post was 11 months ago which is a clear picture of how hard my pregnancy was and what a huge transition it has been going from 2 to 3 kids.  I want to make sure and get Rocco's birth story posted while I can still remember it so clearly.

On February 24th  @ 1:45pm I texted my doula Jenna that I was having some cramping and it felt very familiar but was still unsure if this was it.

3:20 pm I told her I was relaxing upstairs in the tub and that we were supposed to go to Frank's parents for dinner but they brought dinner over to us intstead. Everyone was downstairs and I was relaxing, doing my hypnobirth breathing and doing fine.

3:50 pm I got into bed and texted Jenna that I was now resting in bed and she asked if I could see a pattern.

4:35pm I told her they were 5-6 minutes apart but did not last for a full minute.

5:00pm - I felt super hungry so I got up and ate a big meal. Then I sat on the couch visited with my mom and in-laws for a while.

7:00pm My in-laws left to go home

7:15pm I went to sit on the toilet to deal with the surges and I told Frank we needed to go to the hospital. Frank called his parents who had not even gotten out of their car and they turned around to come back to our house to watch the kids.

7:35 Frank and I were on our way to Pomerado Hospital. Surges were intense but I listened to my rainbow relaxation and forced myself to relax and breath through them knowing that if I tensed up I would experience pain.

8:00pm we arrived, Frank got me a wheelchair and I continued to breath through each surge.

8:15pm we got in our room and I headed straight to the toilet to breath through another surge, got up for the nurse to check me and had to sit back down as another one was on the way. My water broke right after that one finished up. She checked me and I was 7cm. I then got into the tub and labored for a bit.

8:40pm I hit the wall and asked for an epidural. The crying began along with complete panic all I could think is why did I do this again. Jenna suggested I let the nurse check me again.

8:45pm The nurse checked me and I was complete - no epidural for me. I managed to get out of the tub and stand at the side of the hospital bed. I was crying, shaking and sweating from head to toe.  My mom and sister arrived right then. My mom started crying seeing me in such pain and I told her I would be ok.

Three intense double pushes and at 9:02 Rocco Bear Feliccia arrived. All I could say after he was out was, "holy cow that really hurt!" I will spare you the details of what I shouted out during each of the pushes.

I held Rocco on my chest for the next two hours and then got up to use the bathroom and he got his little bath and had his measurements done.  He weighed in at 7lbs 9oz and 20" long.

Rocco is the first baby I have successfully been able to nurse and let me tell you the bond I have with him is amazing. I am so in love with this kid:)

Legoland Waterpark Summer Fun!

My sister and I got to take the kids to the Legoland waterpark last week. My mother-in-law took care of Sammy so we could have a relaxed day.  It was so fun and the kids had a blast. 

Gigi, Zachary and Cayden

These two have been buddy buddy lately

Summer has been full of swimming, play dates, parks and BBQ's with neighbors. I love watching my kids and their friends play and be creative. 

I am learning a lot about about how to parent a spicy little girl.  

Thanks to John Rosemond's book "The well-behaved child" I have some new tools.  

I am working on being in the moment, taking a deep breath before I react 

and not allowing my thoughts to control me.  

Staying home with the kids is the hardest thing I have ever done 

and yet I know that I am where I am supposed to be.  

Through the death of a friend God has softened my heart 

and healed a wound that is allowing me to walk in 

a new kind of relationship with Him.  

I am grateful :) 

1st Beach Day

Yesterday we took Sammy down to the beach for the first time.  It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun playing with the kids.  

We took turns pulling the kids down the hills on boogy boards.  Cayden actually ate quite a bit of sand after flying off the board on this trip down the hill. 

Grandma Gene surprised us all and came down to play and build sand castles. 

Sammy went straight for the hole that was full of water and started splashing.

I had to hold onto him to make sure he didn't dive in...this kid loves water.  

Zachary and Gigi ran around collecting big pieces of seaweed

Fortunately Sammy only tried to eat one rock and otherwise kept the sand out of his mouth.  

Cruising with Grandma

Grandma ended up taking Sammy back to her house for a nap which was such a gift. It gave me time to play with Gigi and the boys.  The day ended with Sara and I pulling the kids on boogy boards along the shore. At one point while Sara was pulling Zachary he was going so fast he went right past her.   I think doing this might have been the highlight of the day.

Fun with cousins

Cayden playing in Gigi's bed

Zachary is such a sweet cousin he loves playing with Sammy and Sammy could not be happier. 

 I am not sure where it came from but when I say smile Gigi's head always goes to the side.

Friday's are one of my favorite days of the week because we always do something with Aunt Sara and the boys.  Yesterday we met up with a friend at the park for a couple hours,  then Sara and the boys came back to our house. After rest time the kids played in the house and had a great time. Sammy was right in the middle of it all and could not have been happier.

It has been fun to see Sammy's personality starting to come out.  He loves being with people and is so socially stimulated that he has trouble napping or eating.  Gigi is such a good big sister...she loves her Sammy, protects him, plays with him and is an amazing helper.  I love my kids more and more every day and yet there are days when I wish I could just put them away in the cupboard for a while.  Being a stay at home mom is by far the hardest job I have ever done and yet I wouldn't trade it.

Last week I started reading, Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist. It was recommended to me by my friend Annie who blogs at www.ourthugson.blogspot.com and I also saw it mentioned on my friend Corrina's blog www.embracetheday.com.   So far it's been a really great read and it's awaken a part of me that has been somewhat asleep for quite a few years.  I have been praying that God would show me how to connect with him and develop a type of communion with him.  I feel like I have been programed by the church to do things in a certain way and although they are good for many they leave me feeling like  a failure.  I am kind of in the midst of a new start of sorts where I live in grace not guilt.  I am just starting this journey but I am treasuring these moments of intimate prayer with my Savior.

My friend Diane recently went on a 10 day silent retreat and one of the things that she learned about was stoping the negative thoughts that often plague our minds. There are days when I wake up and feel depressed and often times I just live in that depression. But this week I chose to take those thoughts captive and instead of focusing on them I started to list all of the things I am thankful for. It was amazing how it turned my whole attitude around.  I want to live in the moment and choose to be grateful versus living thinking the grass is always greener.  Life is hard but those hard moments are what shape and form us into who God's wants us to be.

May you live in God's grace also:)

First Big Boy Bath

Sammy loves taking baths and he is even happier now that he get's to go in the big tub.

 Gigi had western day at preschool and this was the best shot I could get of her. That vest was from when I was little.  Sammy just got his two top teeth and battled his first cold.  Thankfully he is now healthy and back to being his happy little self.