Cooper's HUGS award

Cooper's teacher called me a couple of weeks ago to inform me that Coop was receiving the first HUGS award for the kindergarteners. HUGS at the school stands for Huge Undertakings Great Successes. They recognize a different grade each Friday at an assembly and there are two boys and two girls from each class in that grade who receive the award. Cooper was recognized for his leadership, kindness and responsibility. (My mom just so happened to be here for it too!!) Just a few days ago a mother came up to me when we were dropping kids off at school and told me that her son told her about a time he fell down at recess and was crying and Cooper came to make him feel better. My heart just about burst when she told me. We tell him every day as he goes to school to be a good boy for his teacher and a good friend to his classmates.What a sweet boy he is! So glad he was recognized for his efforts.

The Day My Sister Became A Mother

This is the only pic I got of Quinn on my camera. I don't know how that happened.

I have to say a little about Paige and Danny and their new little girl Quinn! To make a long story (that's not even mine) short and sweet Paige was in early stages of labor for over 30 hours. And I use the technical term "early stage" because of how much she dilated in that amount of time but boy oh boy it was a long day and a half for her. When I got the go ahead to make the drive to be with her early Monday morning I packed quickly, got Cooper off to school and headed for San Diego to meet my friend Joni who would be keeping Jack and Adele for the next day or so. I ended up at Paige's around 11:30 that morning. She made a sandwich, we went for a walk outside and she showed me around. All the while she had regular contractions that I could tell were very uncomfortable. At around 12:15 when we were back inside and she was sitting, her water broke. We jumped into our cars and headed for the hospital. A long and painful 15 hours later Quinn was born! I saw Paige go through every long (2-3min) contraction with an epidural that never really worked for her completely. She had to push for a long time and that little girl's head just didn't want to come out. She almost had to go for a c-section but the vacuum, some serious pushing from Paige and clever maneuvering from the Dr did the trick. 

There was so much more that she went through but I'll let her tell the story :)

I was so thankful to be there. Thankful to sit back and watch her and her husband, Danny, do it all together. He was a great support for her. I remember at one point, when things were a little intense, seeing her looking at him to just get through it and I could tell that he was a rock for her. I was thankful to somewhat (barely) fill the shoes of my mother who I knew desperately wanted to be there with Paige. I was also very thankful to be one of the first people to lay eyes on the perfect baby that Paige grew in her tan belly. (You would laugh if you actually heard how many times Paige said how much all that hard work at the pool paid off this summer.) Paige and Danny are in love with Quinn. Paige is a proud momma and I love seeing her that way. She was meant for it. And that little girl, she's pretty dang cute. I guess making cute babies just runs in the family. I think Adele should be a little scared of her competition but I know in the end they'll be bffs.

Speaking of beautiful babies, here are a few recent pictures of my darling children: