We found Porter's twin

Introducing.....

Porter Hyrum Skousen

December 10, 2008 5:11 AM
7 lbs 12 ounces
21 inches

I am so glad to be home from the hospital with a new healthy little boy!! He has brought a wonderful spirit to our family and we are so excited that he has come to join us. I went into labor on my own on December 9th, and in the wee hours of December 10th they measured me at 5 cm and I quickly got an epidural. After the baby was born, the doctor handed the baby to us so we could see on our own if it was a boy or girl. I instantly began to cry when I saw it was a boy!! I couldn't be happier!! Everything went smoothly with the delivery and we feel so blessed that Porter is healthy!!!

We had a difficult time narrowing our list of about 30 names down. Joe and I have always loved the name Porter. If any of you are familiar with the stories of Porter Rockwell, you know that he was an amazing man. He was not only Joseph Smith's bodyguard, but also his true and faithful friend. Click here to read the inspiring story about Porter Rockwell. Also, we thought it would be appropriate to use Hyrum as the middle name. Two men that were not only true to Joseph Smith, but true to God!!

We love our little Porter!!! Thanks for coming to us!!

Rock-a-bye Baby

Kayla loves to sing Porter songs every time she holds him. This one is her favorite to sing to him.

First bath at home

One of my favorite times is bathing newborns for the first time at home. Little Porter didn't enjoy this experience as much as I did, but soon he came to like it, as you can see by one of these pictures.



And here's the picture when Porter decided that he was okay with a bath. Joe decided to give him a little spa treatment. He ended up focusing time on his belly button to help dry the umbilical cord out. Joe is always so creative. :)


And our freshly clean boy:

Our Sweet Boy and My Beautiful Wife

Thanks Mom!

Tired but happy parents

Oh, and we almost forgot.........

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

Is that a smile!?

Uploaded - 12\10\08-1

Together at last!

First picture with baby! December 10, 2008 - 5:1¹am - 7 lb 12 I'd - 2¹inches

Baby

Yup, the baby is still cooking. I went to the hospital to get a non-stress test done because of gestational diabetes, and everything looks great. If the baby doesn't come within the week, I will be induced on the 11th of December. I am so excited to greet this little one in the world.

Pregnant Gingerbread Cookie

Joe made gingerbread cookies with the kids and decided it would be appropriate to make a pregnant one. Can you tell my back has been aching me?






Looks just like me :).

What is your guess?

Baby #3 will arrive very soon. I am getting so big and uncomfortable that I am really looking forward to the delivery. I can't wait for another little tiny newborn. There is nothing like cuddling with a baby fresh from heaven.

Before this all unfolds... I want to see what your guesses are. What do you think........is this baby a boy or a girl?? I have gone back and forth, and of course it really doesn't matter, but I am curious to see what you think. I am excited to be surprised on the day of delivery!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Joe and the kids were able to head up with the rest of the Skousen Family to cut down our beautiful Christmas tree. I stayed back, just because my back has been giving me troubles, but they had a really good time. It is such a fun tradition to cut down our very own Christmas Tree. We have done it every single year of our marriage. Even when we lived in Michigan we went to a Christmas Tree Farm. I love the smell of it.

Here's Aunt Lizzy giving Isaiah a ride through the snow.



Kayla had a fun time running in the snow. This girl was born for the cold. I freeze up when I am cold and Kayla comes alive.


Joe, Kayla, and Isaiah, next to our soon-to-be Christmas Tree:


And, cutting it down together:



What a fun day they had getting the Christmas Tree. We all relaxed that night with everyone at our home with some homemade Cafe Rio and the BYU vs. UofU game!

Park twins

It has been so warm here lately. I am loving that we are just getting eased into winter! I wanted to post just one last picture of the fun park we go to, before it gets too cold. Kayla and Isaiah love going down the slides together. Don't they look like twins?

Fairy Day!

Lately Kayla has been so obsessed with Fairies. I don't know what got her started, but I think it was the book "Sleeping Beauty" that we have. Last week she requested that I make a wings and a wand for her and now she likes to turn us all into different things. Joe has been a horse, Kayla a dog, and she likes to turn me into a witch and a frog. Gotta love the imagination of a little three year old.


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The time has come.....

Tonight we weighed Kayla and Isaiah. Isaiah now officially weighs more than Kayla. Kayla weighs 28 pounds and Isaiah weighs 29 pounds. We knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Kayla had 3 good years of power over her brother, but now it all ends. You better watch out Kayla, I think we have a linebacker on our hands.

The memory of a child

Kids have the best memories. I always heard that before becoming a mom, but now Kayla has confirmed that to me. Many times I tell her something that we can do the night before and then the next day she is so quick to remind me of my promise. Well, last night Kayla wanted one more bedtime story. Joe told her that when she woke up she could come in our room with a book and he would read it to her. Well, early this morning, Kayla crept out of bed and brought Joe "Sleeping Beauty", and she said, "Okay daddy, I'm ready for my book." It was so cute. Shortly after Isaiah woke up and wanted to be part of the fun, so I had to snap this picture. Thanks for being such a great dad Joe!!!

Pregnancy update

Well, as you can see, baby #3 is going to arrive here pretty quick. All has been going pretty well this pregnancy. I have, for the most part, figured out how to deal with gestational diabetes, but I gotta admit every once in awhile I fall. It is so hard to control diabetes by diet alone. A pregnant girl just needs some sugar once in awhile, not to mention chocolate. So I have my ups and downs, but I am hoping that this baby isn't too enormously big. Sometimes I feel like this baby is going to be huge because my back has been hurting me so much!! I just hope all will go well and that the baby will be healthy and happy. We are so excited to greet this new little one in the world. Many people have asked me if we have thought of a name yet. To tell you the truth, we have been so excited to find out if it is a boy or girl, that we have hardly even talked about names. But, I think we will know when we see the baby's cute little face. I went to the doctor a few days ago and I am dilated to a 1.5 cm and 60% effaced. This could be good news, that the baby will be coming pretty soon, or it could be a long wait. You can never tell with this baby business. We will keep you posted.

Doll House

When we first moved here, Joe's parents were EXTREMELY generous and gave us many things to put in our home. One of the things was this old doll house. Joe was so excited to repaint it with the kids. So the other day, Joe draped the kids in garbage sacks and gave them some paint. The kids had a blast and even in the end began painting each other. :)











The kids have had a blast decorating the doll house. Every day I ask Kayla what she wants to do and she almost always says she wants to paint the doll house. I will have to get some updated pictures up soon. They have fun picking out different colors for the rooms and carpet and decorations. It will be fun to see the final product of this house.

Happy Be-lated Halloween

I have been quite the slacker lately with updating this blog. I think it is mainly because it is hard for me to sit for long or really any period of time because my back is starting to hurt so bad from the baby. But here you go, I am FINALLY posting some pictures from Halloween. Since the costumes from last Halloween still fit Kayla and Isaiah, we decided to use the same ones. Kayla was proud to be in her cowgirl outfit and Isaiah LOVES dogs. I think we will have to get him one in the near future. We had fun trick-or-treating with the kids, going to parties, and doing MANY MANY Halloween activities.




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The kids had fun dressing up to go to Daddy's work. Joe even had a clown nose when he opened the door. The kids were very confused as to why their Daddy's nose was red. What a fun fun day!!