Summer Fun

The boys at Zuma Beach

We've have had family galore here the past few weeks. It started with Liz, Zach and Katie here for a few days. We hung out at the pool, camped out in the backyard (made smores), played a lot of Rock Band, celebrated Dad's birthday and went on a bike ride around Ventura Harbor, we had a great time. Zach was so great with the kids, he played with them in the pool, helped them swim and was so patient with them. What a great cousin and a great nephew. Harrison decided Katie was his favorite cousin and followed her everywhere, Sam kept calling her "that guy" and named Zach the "green shirt guy". Zach wore a green shirt one of the 4 days he was here. Grandpa set up a plank for the kids to cross, it stayed up for all the visits.

Ben and the boys in the pool at grandma's

Zach, Amanda and Liz playing Rock Band

Harrison jumping off the plank, vertical in the air
Auntie Liz with William
Grandpa's Pirate Party Birthday

Adam, Juliet, Merek, Jack, Britta and Claire came. The kids had a blast! We went to the beach, swam in grandma's pool, camped out in the backyard (again made smores), played some more Rock Band and had a great time. It was fun to see Adam and Juliet and all their kids and reconnect with them. This was our first time seeing Claire and she is an absolute doll, and not just because she looks like Sam and me. Ha, ha, ha. Britta was hilarious with her gold purse and big sunglasses, she carried her purse everywhere and made sure you knew her sunglasses were in there. Merek played so well with Harrison and they immediately bonded over their love of cars and lego's. Jack and Sam are a lot alike, they didnt really spend anytime together. Sam is usually in his own world and Jack followed Merek and Britta around a lot. Jack singing "Dead or Alive" on Rock Band was a crack up, he is one cute guy!

Sam, Harrison, Jack, Merek and Britta at Zuma Beach

Sam, Harrison and Grandpa at the beach

Claire's Pirate Birthday Party

Jim and Lynette then came to see Adam and Juliet. Friday night all the boys, except William and Sam, went to a Dodger Game. It was Manny Ramirez' first game with the Dodgers. It was sold out. We just happen to get tickets to a random Friday night game a few weeks prior, little did we know it would be his first game with the Dodgers. Harrison has a blast, he tried cotton candy, hated it, had some ice cream, loved it and daddy bought him a blue Dodger baseball ball, he now uses it to terrorize Sam. It has since been put up in toy jail, a.k.a the office shelves. Saturday we had a family party at grandma's, it was so much fun and it was fun to have the cousins together.

Britta, Seth, (Ethan was asleep) Claire, Merek, William, Harrison, Sam, Noah, Lauren, Evan and Jack
Grandpa and Harrison at the Dodger Game

Sunday Dad, Sue, Grandma, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Fred, Peter, Judy, Faye and Gino came. We all went to mom's house and visited, ate, went swimming and had a great time. It was fun to see everyone!

Helmer Cousins!

Amanda, Adam, Dad and Jim
Our favorite Gino Bambino and Peter in the pool

Jon, Ange, Mia and Claire came to bless Claire and to attend Jon's H.S. Reunion. We had everyone over Friday night for pizza and then Saturday we went to Zuma. Sunday was Claire's blessing at Dad and Ilene's. It was so fun to be with everyone.

The new mama's with thier babies

Ben and Amanda
Harrison, Aunt Ange, Mia and Sam
Grandma and William

The boys burying Uncle Jon at the beach.

In a few weeks we will head down to San Diego for Labor Day weekend. We are going to stay with Jim and Lynette and spend the weekend with them, Tuesday we will head to Lego Land with Sara, Bryan, Josh, Matt, Joey and Kate, we cant wait!

Lauren's Visit

Julie and Lauren came the other day to see William, he was 2 weeks old. It was neat for me to have Julie come, she and I are very close and its so fun that we get to have babies the same age. Adam and Julie are a day apart. William and Lauren are 3 1/2 months apart. We laugh that she a girl and I had a boy, just like her mom and my mom. It was a great day!

We had Sam lay down with them to compare their sizes, Harrison was at the beach with a friend.

William Thomas

William is here! We are so happy and so thrilled to have our new little baby. William Thomas was born July 3, 2008 at 4:47 PM. He weighed 8lbs 13oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. William is a total love and very sweet and content baby. He looks at you with his dark blue eyes and smiles, it just melts our hearts. Sam and Harrison have been so good with their new brother and are very sweet to him. Sam grabs his pillow and lays down wherever William is. He sucks him thumb, twirls his hair and talks to his new brother. Harrison is very interested in the logistics of William, "look at his long legs, how many inches are they?" "How much do you feed him" "How many inches is William, how many inches am I?" Harrison keeps telling everyone how cute William is and how much he loves him. He scrunches up his face when he says it, we all get a good laugh.

For journaling purposes: I went to the Dr. the Thursday before William was born. The Dr. commented that if I was ready he would induce me the following week. I was so excited, however when the Dr. checked me I was not ready and he told me I couldnt be induced the following week. He said to come back on Wednesday, July 2nd and he would check me again, if I was ready then I could be induced on Thursday, July 3rd. I went home with the full knowledge that I would not have William for a few weeks, I really didnt want to be induced. Wednesday came and Ben stayed home with the boys, he said "Maybe we'll have a baby today" I told him dont count on it and went to my appt. I even called as I was leaving "I'm going to my appt, I'll be back with no news". When I went to my appt the nurse asked me if I had any concerns. Not really but the baby hadnt been moving since my last appt. It didnt bother me, I could imagine William in a comfy spot, sucking his thumb warm and toasty and out of room to move. So I didnt make a big deal of it or mention it to many people. The nurse noted that and left the room. My Dr. marched into the room, frantically asked me why I hadnt reported the baby's non-movement and checked for the baby's heartbeat and measurements. He was livid! He informed me that I would be going to the hospital tonight and be put on Cervadil, if it worked then he could induce me tomorrow. I was in tears. I hate the hospital and I was tired and just wanted to go to bed, not sleep in a hospital bed! He hooked me up to the stress test machine and left me in the room. I was in tears! My mom just happen to call me at that moment, I told her to call Ben right away and let him know what was going on. He called me immediately, elated and so excited we were going to have a baby tonight. I was in tears! I was scared and not ready! After the stress test I went home and waited for the Dr's call of when to go to the hospital. The Dr. told me to eat really good tonight because I would be eating until after the baby was born. Mom, Dad, Ben, the boys and I all went to Outback and got steaks. That's eating really good right? After that Mom and Dad took the boys to their house to spend the night and Ben and I went home to wait for the hospital to call. About 9:30 we were told to come over. We got to the hospital, got situated in our room and I was given Cervadil and a sleeping pill. Ben had to sleep on a padded bench and I slept in the hospital bed. It was a long night. In the morning I was dialated to a 1 at 5:30 A.M. The Dr. came in at 8:30 and I was a 4. Soon after I was a 6. At 11:00 the Dr. came in, broke my water and gave me pitocin. I received an epidural at 2:00 and my blood pressure dropped to 80/30 and stayed there for the next few days. I was really dizzy and felt weak. Thank goodness for the steak dinner. At 4:15 I was ready to push and William came at 4:47. The nurses couldnt believe how big he was and Ben and I were in awe. William has a big barrell chest like Sammy and long legs and arms like Harrison. He has a big round head that was perfectly shapped when he came out, just like Harrison's and Sammy's.

William is just the cutest baby and has the sweetest demeanor about him. I cant stop kissing William and holding him. Ben has to ask if he can hold William, I guess I am hogging him. Grandma's getting a little annoyed with me too for the same reason. William smells so sweet and looks so much like Ben. He is just too handsome and such a love. No wonder I cant leave him alone, he looks like his daddy! I love William so much and am so honored to be him mom and have the opportunity to raise him. I love you forever William!

Sam

A few weeks ago I wrote about Harrison and some funny things he does that makes up laugh. I was thinking I have to get down all the funny things Sam does. He is a crack up. Sam is our kid who makes us laugh on a daily/hourly basis. He has the funniest sense of humor. When he wakes up in the morning he starts talking non stop. Most of the time the first few minutes are sleep talk and its usually about Nemo, Curious George or some other random cartoon character. He then has, what I like to call, his "Morning Graham". He starts each day with a graham cracker, or two. Its his favorite treat and his day cannot start without one. Sam is constantly trying to make you laugh. He walks around most of the day saying "that was funny, huh?" and then waiting for your response. He is a total snuggle. He always wants me to hold him like a baby and suck his thumb. Oh, that's my favorite, he sucks his thumb and twirls his hair. So cute! Like I said Sam talks non stop. I wonder where he got it from? He talks from morning until night. When you ask him to be quiet he quickly answers "Nope, sorry" and then continues to talk. Sam makes up laugh and brings so much joy into our home.

Baby Update

When are you coming? Apparently not next Thursday! I went to the Dr. today and I am apparently NOT READY to have a baby yet, so he is not inducing me next week. I will go again on Wednesday, and if I am ready then he will induce me on Thursday. We'll see. I really dont see me having this baby next week, maybe the week after but not next week. Its been a gut feeling I've had for awhile. Oh well, we contiue to wait........

Baby Shower

Julie and I with Lauren. She was pooped, so were we!

Last Saturday Aunt Marg threw Julie and I a baby shower. It was so much fun! Just the family was there and it made it so nice. I had a baby shower all planned and ready for Julie, however 2 days before the party Lauren, Julie's baby, decided she was tired of sitting around and wanted to join the party. So she was born. So we had a combined baby shower. It was great, everything was blue for William and pink for Lauren. Lauren even wore a pink tutu to the party. We visited, played games, and ate, it was wonderful. Val, my cousin Lisa's daughter who is 11 going on 17, put together a few of the games. My absolute favorite was the A-Z game. Val gave you a piece of paper with A-Z listed on it. You had 3 minutes to write down everything you could think of that started with each letter of the alphabet that had to do with a baby. A- applesauce, B-bottles, C-crib, etc. Val then read the answers, you may have written, B-bib but she was looking for B-bottle, so sorry, you didnt get a point. Sometimes we would argue our word and if she liked it she would let you have a point, but really your answers needed to match Val's. Total crack up. It was so much fun!

My cake. Chocolate chocolate chip with cream cheese frosting.

Julie's cake. Lemon with cream cheese frosting.
Grandma Jane and Aunt Sandy
Linda, Sally, Aunt Fran and Mom

Aunt Marg did so much to make the day so special and I really appreciated it. She had white flowers in a blue vase/bag for William. Party favors for everyone, games galore, food galore and everything decorated in pink and blue. I just loved it. Thank you so much Aunt Marg for such a wonderful day. Below is a link of the pic's from the shower and some presents I received.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ellsworthamanda/BabyShower

Baby Bedding

About 4 months ago Julia and Sara emailed me, they wanted to make our new baby his bedding for his crib. I was so touched and couldnt believe they would want to do this for me. Sara and Julia both have online fabric stores, so I got to go through their inventory and pick out what fabrics I wanted. I have a favorite Michael Miller print that they used and these are the results. Julia embroidered the baby's name on the quilt, William Thomas Ellsworth, so the cat is out of the bag. We are naming our baby William Thomas Ellsworth. I love the name. His room is so cute, but not finished. Ben painted the walls a really neat blue and the bedding looks so gorgeous with the walls, his white crib and white dresser. We still need to paint some cowboy scenes in the frames that outline his room. Right now they have jungle animals in them that matched Sam's bedding. When the room is completed I will send more pics. I am so touched that Ben's sisters would take time out of their busy lives with their kids to make our baby something so special. I will treasure this forever and pass it to William when he has babies. I just love his baby bedding and it couldnt be made better, be more perfect for our little boy. I cant wait for him to lay in his crib, snuggle with his blanket and hopefully not spit up on anything. Ha ha ha. Thank you so much Sara and Julia, I love it!

Julia and Sara's sites are the following. Check them out, I love them!

Julia's- www.thedizzydaizy.etsy.com

Sara's- http://stores.ebay.com/Sisters-In-Stitches