Emma's School Thanksgiving Feast

Since I am the Kindergarten room parent, I was able to help organize Emma's class Thanksgiving Feast. Her teacher, Mrs. Stewart, was busy the month of November educating the children about Thanksgiving and it's history and the kids revealed all of their crafts and costumes they had been making throughout the month. During the party, the kids sang the Thanksgiving themed songs they had been learning, we played pin the hat on the turkey, decorated sugar cookies, made a pinecone turkey, and played Thanksgiving Bingo. Then the kids recited several bible verses they had been learning about giving thanks, we prayed and finally stuffed ourselves on the wonderful Thanksgiving Feast that all of the mothers and Mrs. Stewart had made.
I am thankful for Christian Heritage School for the christian- based curriculm they provide and I am extremely thankful for Mrs. Stewart and her creativity and warmth she exudes in her Kindergarten classroom.

The Thanksgiving Feast

Praying

Singing songs of Thanks

Making Pumpkin Spice Muffins

We made pumpkin spice muffins from a recipe my friend, Sky, posted on her blog. The recipe had only a few ingredients and was easy to make with the kids.

1 box spice cake, 1 can pumpkin, 2 egg whites, and mini chocolate chips. Simple and yummy!

I love fall and anything made with pumpkin!

Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Conrad visit

Grandpa Conrad came through in his truck to pick up Grandma Nancy on Saturday and was able to stay until Sunday afternoon before heading out on the road. The kids enjoyed playing board games with Grandma and Nathan buried Grandpa in all his trucks and other automobiles!
Here is another pic of Ava and Daddy in the hospital.

Lucas went under the knife AGAIN!

Lucas had back surgery (a 3 level decompression) back in July...... he was feeling great for awhile, but last week the pain started again. First it was painful in his tailbone area and then the pain kept spreading to other areas such as his lowerback, hip and then the shooting leg pain started happening again. He was sent to get an MRI done and then on Monday afternoon he saw his surgeon and received the news that he would have to have a disc completely removed and a fusion done on Thursday! Yikes! We panicked a little about such a large surgery again and then made arrangements. Lucas called his mom and dad who were on the road at the time and then Nancy hopped a flight from Ontario, CA and flew into SLC Wednesday night. She is taking care of Emma and Nathan at home while I go back and forth to the hospital with Ava. Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Gunderson for making arrangements to help us out on such short notice!!

Before Surgery - Emma loves that he has to wear white tights!


After surgery.....

Resting with Ava

Chilly Fall Air

It's getting chilly! I took this picture yesterday afternoon out our front door. If you look close you can see the changing colors of the trees on the mountain and of course the snow capped peaks! Bring it on Fall and Winter!

Ava is one month old today!

Tea Party and Race Cars

Emma and I spent a Saturday morning at Molly Dodge's 4th Birthday Tea Party. Look at these beautiful girls.


Then Lucas and my brother, Dallas, took Emma and Nathan to the Miller Motorsports Park to watch some races.

Nathan starts Preschool!

Nathan started preschool this fall with some hesitation and some tears, but drop off is getting better and he always has a great time after he settles in and is excited to tell us about what he has done when we pick him up. He goes to preschool Tuesday and Thursday mornings and has 9 other classmates. Isn't he growing up?

Granite Family Picnic

On September 13, we attended Lucas's company's family picnic. The kids enjoyed all of the carnival events, food, and running some machinery with daddy in the Equipment Rodeo. It was our first big family outing as the 5 of us - Ava slept the whole time and we had a great time!

Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken when Ava was 1 week old at Wheeler Farm by our favorite photographer Sara Boulter. The kids did great and Ava slept the whole time and then we toured the farm to check out all the animals.

Ava's first couple of days

Welcome to your family Ava Dawn Gunderson!

Ava Dawn Gunderson was born September 5, 2009 at 4:31 pm.
6 lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches

Ava's first bath

She's such an alert little girl checking out her new world!

Our first picture of the 5 of us.

My midwife, Machel, Ava and mommy

Sept 5th - Induction Day

I went to sleep Friday night the 4th with alot of anxiety. Anxiety for having to be induced and good excited anxiety knowing that I would meet my little girl tomorrow.

Lucas and I woke up early because we needed to be to the hospital a little before 7am. We woke the kids up to say goodbye to them and then headed to the hospital. When we arrived it was sooo quiet. They had had several deliveries the night before, but I was the only one on the L&D floor that morning.

We settled in to our room and I think we were both excited and ready for the process to begin. We were old hands at this, right?

My nurse started the Pitocin around 8am, my mom brought the kids up around 9am and my brothers Dallas and Dylan and Dylan's fiance Danae came to visit too. Around 10 am the Pitocin really started to create some strong contractions so everyone left. My midwife broke my water shortly after and then I was in labor. Long story short - it was a difficult labor with really strong contractions but I was not progressing (dilating) like I should have been. Although my hope was for a non-medicated delivery like I had experienced with both Emma and Nathan , I finally decided to have an epidural around 3 pm because I could feel my body fighting the contractions instead of working with them - and I knew my body was too tense to progress. Although it was a very hard decision, I now know it was the right one because as soon as the epidural started to work and my body relaxed, dilation progressed.

Lots of monitoring.............

The week before Ava arrived I spent lots of time at the Dr.'s office on the monitor. Ava's movements had slowed down considerably. It seemed like every day I was counting fetal movements several times a day and having to try all the tricks to get this little girl to move.....orange juice and laying on my left side etc.

I was supposed to be induced on the 5th at McKay Dee Hospital, but after a mix up at that hospital they tried to push my induction date to the 7th. Neither my midwife or Lucas and I were comfortable waiting a couple more days due to Ava's inadequate movement so we decided to deliver at a different hospital (Davis Hospital).

Here is a picture September 5th at 6:30 am just before we left for the hospital.

Baby shower weekend

My dear friends, Michele and Nanette, threw Lucas and I a couple's baby shower on August 22nd. Thank you to Michele and Eric and Nanette and Patrick for your planning, cooking and a great afternoon with friends.