Happy Birthday, Ikes!!!

Our little "Bubba" (as Isabelle likes to call him) turned 6 on Wednesday. I can't believe he is so big already! He is such a joy in our home and we just love having him around. He gets bigger and smarter every day and he's so much fun to be with! He finishes kindergarten at the end of this month and then will be off to full-day school for the next 12 years!


Izaak's
birth story:
At 30 weeks I went into labor and the doctor had to give me a really big shot to stop it and then put me on some drugs that I had to take every 4 hours to prevent contractions and then said bedrest until he was a little more baked. Just a reminder: Tay-Tay was 18 months old at the time! It was rough, but with lots of help from grandparents, neighbors, and the Relief Society, we made it to the safety zone before he was born. So when I was finally able to stop the pills, guess what? Contractions started. So on May 6th (35 6/7 weeks) I went in to L&D in the afternoon and I was at a 2-3 and the contractions weren't regular enough to keep me and I wasn't far enough along for them to "help the process" so they sent me home. We went home and got a good night's rest and then I woke up a little after 6:00 am and realized I was in a LOT of pain and bleeding (sorry for the visual, but it's the truth). So we RUSHED to the hospital (we lived in the country, 5 miles out of town, a good 10 minute drive)! When we got there the nurse checked me and I was at an 8 already, and I think she momentarily regretted sending me home less than 12 hours before that. So I quickly (in my stupid, pregnant state of mind) asked, "Can I please have an epidural, this hurts?!" And she laughed at me! And said, "Um, no." And then, she went out in the hall and stated to all the nurses out there, "Hey this girl is at an 8 and asked if she could have an epidural! Ha ha ha!" Yeah, I was real glad they all thought that was so funny! In the meantime they gave me some crazy drug to help "take the edge off" and I really wish they hadn't. We had to wait about 5 minutes for my doctor to get there, and as soon as he arrived, he broke my water, I only pushed a few times, and at 6:48 am on May 7th there was little Ikes. I had been awake for less than an hour so far that day. He was exactly 4 weeks early and very small (5 lbs. 14 oz.) and didn't cry at first, so I was pretty worried, but they rubbed him and swatted him and stuff and then he finally let out a howl. What a rough morning! He was purple and bruised from the fast labor (it's not healthy for them to come that fast), but it went away after a couple of days. We initially thought he would have to stay in the hospital for a few days, but his test scores were good and we got to take him home the next day. So now I'll be honest: he was a pretty difficult baby. He had colic and cried a lot and then when he was able to scream instead of cry, he would scream. He wouldn't take anything other than mama, so I had one straight year of solid baby-bonding time. But I guess the hardest babies turn out to be the best kids because he is just so great! Taylor and her cousin Emma would always call him "Baby Ikes-It" because Izaak is pretty hard to say, and soon it was shortened to just "Baby Ikes" and now it's just "Ikes." Most Izaaks go by "Ike" but not ours! And people always wonder what we are calling him when we call him that, but whatever. We love him to pieces and are so glad we have a little boy amongst our girls. Life would be so boring without him here to entertain us!

6 fabulous facts about our 6-year-old:
1. Izaak love, love, loves football and wants to be a football star. He especially enjoys watching the USU Aggies play football.
2. His favorite color is orange, but doesn't like to admit it. He will usually tell you it is blue, but if given the choice to wear an orange shirt or a blue shirt, he will always choose the orange one.
3. He is the best helper I have, and is very tidy for a small boy. He helps with Belle, the dishes, the laundry, and the vacuuming on a regular basis.
4. He is VERY shy. The complete opposite of his sister, he does NOT enjoy being the center of attention. But after you get to know him, he is a barrel full of laughs!
5. He is very perceptive of people. If Ikes does not have a good feeling about someone (usually happens with adults) we can always tell. He picks up on stuff that the rest of us usually miss. On the other hand, if he does have a good feeling about someone, he will make friends with them and then always ask when we can see them again (Uncle Todd is a good example of this).
6. He is a very good swimmer and was swimming the full length of the pool only about one week after being taught how to swim. He can't wait for the pool to be open again!