Baby #9's Arrival

Baby Evan has been alive for almost a week now! Here is his little birth story.

Mom and Dad went into the hospital around 3 PM on Thursday because Mom's water was broken. They let Suzanne, Rachel, and I all be a part of the delivery this time around, so mom's friend April came and picked us up. We got to the hospital at about 3:30, but were quickly kicked out for Mom's epidural and catheter. They started mom on a half-dose of her epidural, and started her pitocin drip. Contractions were coming!

Mom did great for a long time--until around 7:30--then she began to feel more pain. They gave her more of her epidural medicine, and she was feeling a lot better again. Everyone was estimating the birth weight, height, and time. We had a lot of visitors come! Sanjay, Aman, and Aleena came to see mom and Dr. Patel (their mom!). So nice of them! Rhonda and Kyan came as well, and Ky man was SO good! He is getting WAY to big too. I am pleased to announce, however, that he still remembers who I am!

Around 9:30, mom began feeling lots of pressure. They checked her and she was 9 cm and about 90% effaced. Just a few minutes later she was really feeling the pressure and she was checked again--10 cm dialated and 100% effaced! It was Show Time! The nurse Sherry and Dr. Patel got everything out and ready for the delivery!

At about 10:10ish mom began pushing through her contractions. She only had to push through two full contractions, and then Baby Evan was OUT! He weighed 7 lbs and 13 oz, and was 21 inches. He was SO cute! Mom did GREAT, and the epidural definitely helped!

He was born on Thursday, and Friday morning Dr. Patel went to circumcise him and he turned blue. Needless to say, the circumcision stopped and he was admitted to the NICU that morning. They hooked him up to all the monitors, and measured his vitals Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. Crazy little man worried Mom and Dad for nothing, because he was fine! No infections, and all of his tests came back completely normal. They think that he turned blue (he turned blue three more times throughout the 48 hours in the NICU) simply because all of the fluid didn't get squeezed out of him. Because Mom has had so many children, and she only pushed twice, his little body didn't get squeezed enough to remove all of the fluid. So after a few days, he was fine! The first night he was home, Mom didn't sleep very well, but now she is sleeping fine, and Evan is doing great!

Evan is such a great baby and he is super cute! We all love him SOO much, and he sure is one lucky little man!

Mom--very happy and pain-free

Suzanne kept the whiteboard up to date with all of the delivery visitors and mom's "care".

Sweet Rhonda and Kyan came up for the arrival of little Evan!

Although Mom didn't deliver at Mary Washington where she actually works, she still knew almost everybody! She is quite the popular lady, folks.

Sanjay and April are the best!

He's coming SOON!!!

But while we wait, we might as well help support our friend Apple.

Mom's IV pole with Pitocin and Fluid

Last picture of the three girls and their pregnant mother!

Love it--especially mom's ring

Two minutes until pushing!

Dr. Patel--the BEST!

Suzanne, Rhonda, and Kyan helping to document the little guy!

First Picture!

Mom was very happy to be done pushing and to have her happy, healthy baby!

Dad with Baby #9!

Mom, Dad, and Baby

Everyone that was present for the delivery

Dr. Patel was the best! Delivered a happy little boy to the two BEST parents in the world!

LOVE him.

Leslie, Baby, and Mom

Three sisters with their newest little brother!

April just LOVES him too!

Gray went up later that night after midnight to see mom and baby.

First little bath--he didn't like it too much

Gray and I visiting Evan in the NICU

Sweet baby boy loves his mom!

Cute little NICU man!

We are so glad to have Evan here with us, home safe and sound. He is so well loved, and every single one of us enjoys bonding with the newest sibling every day. We sure do love him and are so blessed to have him safe and healthy with us!

Kemmey #9...

Has Arrived!!!

Baby Kemmey was born tonight at 10:33 pm. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 21 inches long. He was the first little man to come out with dark hair! Mom did GREAT--she's basically a pro by now. Baby was out within two contractions worth of pushing. Amazing. Thanks to all the wonderful doctors, nurses, friends, and family! He is so cute and will be so spoiled!

The official name will probably Evan, but still there is no decision.

Pictures are from cell phones, so they are small--more pictures to come.

I am so lucky to have another little brother and sibling. He is so loved already by all of us. I love my family so much, and am so thankful that we will truly be a family forever! Congrats mom and dad--you are the best parents in the world!

SO soon!

We are going to be having a baby here pretty soon, and when I mean "we", it means mom is going to put forth all the effort to actually push the little man into this world, and his siblings are going to fall all over him. I am WAY excited and ready for this man to be here! His clothes have been folded and all put away for weeks! Mom has gotten diapers, nursing pads, wipes, PJs for herself, etc... and she is ready to be done being pregnant! Last Thursday she went to the doctor's, and she was 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced! She is only 36 weeks and 3 days right now, but she usually goes early!

As usual, picking a name is quite the controversy. However, (suprisingly) it seems that mom and dad might have agreed on a name already. Nothing is set in stone, and there is certainly some opposition for the kids (not like we get a vote on the name though!). Dad LOVES the name, and mom has started to like it. His name will [might] be...

Evan Gray Kemmey!

Yeah, the other day Mom and I were in the car and she told me that Evan would probably be his name. It's not my favorite. Mom said, "Just say it to yourself over and over and over like I did and it will eventually grow on you!" Ha! We will have to see. The only part of that name that is 100% certain is "...Gray Kemmey".

School is almost over as well! Crazy to think that high school is OVER. Wonderful, too. In two weeks exactly I present my final HUGE project, and I am essentially done! I cannot wait for summer!

Kyan at 7 Months

This little boy sure is so lucky, because he has tons of people to love on him all the time, and he makes it pretty easy to love him because he is just so darn cute and happy lately. For a long time, he wouldn't sleep very well, but now he is taking naps and sleeping in his crib at night, and only wakes up once usually! He is SO happy now and getting so big. He laughs and squeals so loud when the little boys walk near him or play with him, which is very cute.

He loves the bath and likes sitting and playing with all the little toys.

He has been eating foods for a long time now, but he loves them despite his face in the picture!

First Easter!

Pictures at the Park

Over Spring Break last week we went out to the park and Mom took a couple graduation pictures to use for graduation announcements, and she also snapped a few of the younger boys. We had Kyan that day as well, so he got thrown in a few pictures, too!

34 Weeks Today

About a month to go!

Hot Momma

This is mom at 26 weeks, a month ago. She is now 30 weeks, and has about eight weeks left!

Kyan Update

He's getting VERY big. And really cute. Irresistible at six months old!

He loved Gray's soft beard

He likes to fly

He seems to like his pacifier now!

And he likes to help me cook while he sits in his Bumbo!

Carl's Is Open!

Well, actually it opened a while ago. We went together the day it opened for a little treat, and we had Kyan that day! Very fun, and always delicious!

Ha! Look at him eyeing Tanner's ice cream!

Yum!

Pretty Big Deal

I have officially decided where I will be going to college. Probably the biggest decision I have made so far in my 17 years of life.

I will be a VCU Ram (I didn't even have a clue what their mascot was until my friend told me... school spirit, right). I was accepted into the honors college, meaning I will have my own room, my own bathroom, priority registration for classes, live in honors housing, and other random perks. One of my FAVORITE things about VCU is that it is so close to home! I will only be one hour away from my family, which is great because the new baby will be here in just about two months! Another thing that drew me to VCU was their MCV campus and guaranteed admission to their medical school (if I apply for it) after I finish my bachelors degree. Right now I am headed the biology route, but who knows if that's what I will stick with! The only downside to VCU, which really made me hesitate at first, was the LDS setting. We (Dad, Mom, Gray, and I) actually went down and visited the ward I will be in while at school. The singles ward has about two dozen undergrads at VCU, FHE every week, Institute three differeant nights, firesides, activities, temple trips, etc... All in all, it was very promising, and I am definitely glad that the church is strong down there!







Because I made my decision, it means I heard back from everyone else. Just for personal records:
I applied to George Mason University, UVA, VCU, University of Mary Washington, Virginia Tech, BYU-Utah, and BYU-Idaho. I was accepted to all of them, and I received scholarships from everywhere but UVA and Virginia Tech. I applied for UVA's full ride and ended up competing for it, but didn't get it. I was accepted as an Echol's Scholar, however. I was given honors acceptance in each school. I would say it was a pretty successful college journey this year!

I am so glad to have finally made a decision. I know where I will be in the fall, which feels great. I have honors orientation in mid-June (so soon!) where I choose my classes. Crazy! And I have only eight more weeks of school until I am done. Eight. More. Weeks.

Tired

Kyan and I have been tired this past week.

On Tuesday we slept a little.

Then on Saturday we slept a little bit more!

College

In just a few short months, I will be a college student. As I have been trying to decide where to go, whether it be at home, close to home, or across the country, I have had lots of people tell me I shouldn't stay at home because I need to just have time to myself and be 18 years old, to relax. I help out a lot around my house, and I definitely have a lot of responsibilities as the oldest daughter in a large family. However, if you know me, you probably know that I am perfectly content with my position and responsibilities in my family, and I am definitely not going to college to "relax" and get away from the family responsibilities I have.

I have always been very mature for my age. I think it comes with the big family territory. I have known for years how to wash laundry, cook full meals, clean almost anything, take care of kids, clean up messes, etc... Sometimes I talk to a girl in my classes who has three younger siblings. Even with younger siblings, she doesn't know how to do any of those things. Another one of my friend's knows how to do some of them, but her mom does almost everything for her, even clean her room. Crazy. I don't always enjoy everything I have to do, but I am glad that I know how to and that I was taught from extremely little that I was expected to help in my family (Story: when I was only four years old my mom would have me clean my room by myself. I hated it. She video taped me crying and carrying on for hours about having to clean it, but she always made me finish it.).

I love having a big family and I love that I have learned so many things that most teenagers do not. My parents are (almost always) pretty awesome. When I do go to college, some of the things I will miss most about being home is cooking big huge meals for the family, (imagine being used to cooking meals for ten and then eventually having to cook for only one person, me), teaching Ryan crazy things and getting him SO excited to build a garden this spring, watching Kyan and missing the new baby that is coming, and just being a huge help in this family. However, I will NOT miss mopping floors, cleaning up the boys' pee on the toilets, washing dishes, etc... Those can stay!