We are smitten and so in love with our little Theo, as the days go by our love grows even more. The kids all adore their little brother.
Theo’s birth story is one to tell because it was so full of surprises.
Theodore came at 39 weeks and 4 days, this in itself was a surprise because I had not given birth before the due date with any of my kids.
It all happened the weekend of Memorial Day, my sister and her husband were visiting us that weekend and I have to say it all worked out perfectly.
Saturday morning I had woken up and realized that I lost my mucus plug, which meant one thing labor was approaching and coming anytime soon. That day I started cleaning my house and doing my regular Saturday errands, and then we headed to a birthday party for my daughter’s friend. I had felt minor contractions on the way there but they were not alarming and painful. After the birthday party we headed home to spend some time with my sister and brother in law.
Toward the evening I started to feel more and more contractions and when I laid the kids down for bed I let them know that baby brother would most likely be here tomorrow.
My sister was treating me to a manicure and pedicure when I suddenly started to feel very painful contractions after timing them we realized they were already 5 minutes apart consistently. I decided to let my sister finish up and then we’d head to the hospital. A this point the contractions were consistently 3 minutes apart.
Once we got to the hospital and got checked in I was 8 cm dilated and very “soft”. I was informed that it was to late for the epidural, which I planned to get.
I laboured for another hour and half and then little Theo was in my arms.
What a different experience this all was for me. But I am so happy to have experienced an unmedicated labor for once. Recovery was so quick afterwards and I felt so good only a few weeks postpartum.
If you were to ask if I would do an unmedicated labor again, I wouldn’t know how to answer that because all my labors were good with and without the epidural. However, the recovery process was so much better this time.
October 2022, we made a fall trip to the beautiful state of Vermont. Our main goal was to experience cool temperatures, fall foliage and have some time with the kids. This trip did all that and more.
We flew into Boston, rented a car and stayed the night. The next morning we woke up, and headed toward Vermont.
Before flying into a Vermont I did some research to plan out different stops we would like to see. This really helped narrow down where we would book our hotels.
If you are planning a trip to Vermont during the fall, book hotels in advance. The prices are cheaper when you book earlier and you have more options due to availability.
First Stop:
Quechee State Park
While driving past , this seemed like a popular tourist stop.
The bridge has sidewalks on either side and a tall fence. The fence has small rectangle holes in some areas to allow a better view of the gorge.
It’s a beautiful sight to see!
Afterwards we made our way down and went below the bridge for a short hike.
View from the bridge. View under the bridge.
Next Stop:
Sleepy Hollow Farm
We made a stop here specifically to take some family photos with the beautiful fall backdrop. We ended up using those photos for our Christmas cards.
Just a side note, this is a private residence you can’t walk on the property but you can stop on the road and snap some photos. It seemed like a popular spot because we were not the only ones taking photos here.
Next stop:
Woodstock
This little town gave me hallmark movie vibes. It was all so cute, historic and beautiful. We noticed that many of the restaurants, and shops closed very early here.
We stopped at a local restaurant (seemed like the only one open in the evening) and then walked around the town.
The town of Woodstock is not very big, you don’t need a full day here. But there are places around the town to explore as well.
Some places to explore around and in the town of Woodstock:
Billings museum
Sugarbush Farm
Mon Vert Cafe or Soulfully Good Food.
Woodstock Middle Bridge
Kendron Brook
locally owned shops
Kendron Brook
Next stop:
Burlington
This city is known for the large Lake Champlain.
We started our day walking around waterfront park. There is a kids museum here and it looked so fun! We walked inside but didn’t enter the museum, because we were short on time.
We spent a lot of time running around collecting leaves and enjoying the fresh air.
Afterwards we headed to Church Street to grab some lunch.
This street is filled with people, restaurants and shops. There was so many options for lunch.
Waterfront park Other side of the park. Church Street
Next Stop:
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
A must stop if you love fresh apple cider and apple cider donuts.
We walked around the store, bought some souvenirs, got our donuts and apple cider then headed to the seating area outside.
THe donuts were so good and the cider too.
Enjoying our treats outside Apple cider
Next Stop:
Stowe
We stayed at Stowe Mountain Resort and would come back! The resort is fantastic. The scenario around the resort is beautiful. The resort offers so many fun things for everyone. The pool was heated and there was seating areas with bonfires to warm up.
An added bonus: the gondola ride goes from the resort! It’s an extra charge but I highly recommend doing this.
The town of Stowe has lots of spots to explore as well. We choose to drive through the town and only made one stop. We decided to spend most of our time at the resort when visiting Stowe.
For our summer 2021 family vacation we decided to explore the Southwest USA. Our destination included Las Vegas, Valley of Fire State Park, Zion National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon, and Willow Beach. We began our trip by flying into Las Vegas because flights tend to be cheaper at this airport. Before our trip we did research on our destinations and hikes. We then decided which days we would visit each destination in the most logical route so that we could book the hotels. This trip required a lot of driving around, so if you are planning this type of vacation be prepared for a lot of time on the road.
We took our trip in June and it just so happened that the week we were coming, there was an “excess heat warning” issued, temperatures were climbing as high as 120 degrees.
From our experience in the heat. We recommend wearing hats, drinking lots and lots of water, and wearing very light fitting clothes.
We arrived to Las Vegas late in the evening, got an uber to our hotel, slept and spent half the next day hanging out in Vegas.
Smell of cigarettes is all over the walking areas of the hotel (except bedroom and bedroom hallway)
Pool area didn’t allow us to bring our cooler
Pool area didn’t allow us to bring our own drinks
Pool area didn’t allow us to bring our GoPro
No sitting areas in the lobby area
Hotel seemed very busy all day
We rented a car and left to our next destinations; our first stop was Valley of Fire State Park. We stopped here because it was on the way to Zion National Park.
It is basically a scenic route with really awesome views. We did not drive through the entire park but stopped at a couple beautiful mountaintops to hike up, sightsee and take some pictures.
We continued our drive up to Zion National Park, but had to make a few stops on the way.
First we stopped for groceries and drinks for the entire trip. Water at the hotels are expensive. We spent $6 for a 1L bottle of Dasani at MGM. Unfortunately Ethan lost his blanket when we were exploring MGM so we had to stop by Target to buy Ethan a baby blanket, otherwise he would have trouble getting to sleep without a blanket to hold onto.
The drive to Zion National Park was beautiful. At one point we drove through a huge canyon. But in all honesty, our entire drive was surrounded by beauty.
We enjoyed our stay at this lodge, it was great. We paid a few dollars extra for a balcony view of the mountain and it was so worth it. Watching the sunrise over the mountain was breathtaking. I was stunned by the view when I opened the balcony door.
Other places to stay near Zion that we considered are:
La Quinta
Zion lodge
I would recommend staying at the Zion Lodge which is deep inside Zion National Park. This would save you a ton of time since you are actually in the park and you don’t have to get shuttled or drive into the park. (There is a parking lot at Zion but it fills up really early, they said it was full at 8am). Also, you wouldn’t have to take as much snacks and drinks on the hike since you could go back to the lodge after your hike. Book in advance because rooms sell out quick.
Zion National Park:
Zion National Park has a shuttle system. You will be taking two shuttles if you stay in Springdale. The first picked us from near our hotel, drove us to the visitor/pedestrian/bike entry. At this stop we paid our park fee and then went into line for the next shuttle, this process alone took an hour.
The second shuttle takes you to the scenic drive and into the park.
Ill go into more detail about this in my blog post about Zion national Park
Hikes:
There are so many options.
We choose to do the lower emerald pools hike and the narrows.
Lower emerald pools hike is stroller friendly. The stroller will only get you to the lower emerald pool, if you want to continue the hike to the upper emerald pool then you can’t take the stroller.
I wish we had known this earlier but the path to get to the narrows is also mostly stroller friendly. Once at the narrows hike there are rocks and water. We did not hike far into the narrows cause our kids got tired, instead we just cooled off in the water.
I’d recommend doing the narrows hike first it was beautiful, and so worth it. We did this hike second and felt so tired already.
After our day of hiking and exploring Zion National Park, we headed to our next stop Lake Powell, Arizona. The drive out of Zion was amazing, tons of canyon views and beautiful colors. We even saw some mountain goats crossing the road in front of us.
Our next stop was Lake Powell, AZ and we planned on visiting Horseshoe Bend and The Grand Canyon on that day.
We stayed at Lake Powell Resort, in Arizona. The hotel grounds are very clean and upkept, we enjoyed an evening and morning walk around resort. Our room had a balcony view of the lake and mountains. We enjoyed swimming in the pool and heated jacuzzi before heading to our next stop. This hotel is perfect for people with boats that want to enjoy lake Powell since it’s right on the lake. They have a lot of boat and RV parking as well. We had breakfast at the restaurant with a view of the lake which was gorgeous.
The drive to Horseshoe bend was only 17 minutes from our resort. We wanted to hike the antelope canyon but did not have enough time.
Horseshoe Bend:
Horseshoe bend has a $10 entry fee. The hike is 1.5 miles roundtrip and stroller friendly; it was not strenuous. Make sure to drink lots of water, the hike is not shaded at all. We spent an hour here.
This is a great place to stop before the 2 hour drive to grand canyon.
Driving into North Rim was beautiful, there was an instant change of scenario, we went from dessert to forests and meadows, on the way we saw deer and bison wandering around. The forest we passed was Kaibab National Forest.
We are so glad that we choose the north side of the Grand Canyon. We were able to drive into the park, park our car and do the hike there, without dealing with a shuttle system. Originally, we planned to go to the South Rim but were told they have a shuttle system like Zion National Park.
We hiked Bright Angel Point, which provided great views of Grand Canyon. The hike is stroller friendly but for a smaller size stroller. The hike is short but a little more strenuous because it has hills. The path is narrow so you will have hikers coming in and out of the hike and will have to wait for them to pass at times.
You have to be more cautious at the north rim because there are no rails on the hike, except at the end. I was holding my kids hands very tight!
The north side of the Grand Canyon has additional hikes to choose from, which can be found on their website. You can potentially hike down the canyon but this takes a full day and you’ll need to camp down in the canyon.
We came here around 4pm and it was the best time because the weather was perfect, and it was not as hot. Afterwards we cut up a watermelon and enjoyed the view.
After a few days of hiking we headed back to Las Vegas.
We stayed at The Delano, which is connected to Mandalay Bay and you are able to use the Mandalay Bay beach/pool area.
The next day we joined our family at Willow Beach and spent the day boating the Colorado River. This was such a fun experience and I highly recommend it. We stopped the boat a few times for a swim. Some spots on the water were freezing, while other spots were warmer. the view of canyons all around while on a boat is great.
The boat was very clean, the staff were friendly, We had a great experience with this location. We are not sure how much the boat was to rent since my father in law rented it but you could check online.
Recommendations:
When visiting Zion or The Grand Canyon get the annual park pass, it is $80 but will cover the cost of both the parks, and even the entry to Willow Beach. Also, this pass works for all national parks in the United States. Or you can purchase the pass online: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm
Bring sunscreen and apply it a few times, especially for kids.
Book a car in advance, the price increases for last minute reservations and availability decreases.
Book a car rental place at the airport, hotel, or a place near your hotel in Vegas since Uber is expensive. We paid $50 to Uber from the airport to the hotel which was only a few miles away because Uber was in high demand at the time.
Uber prices are high, so renting a car might be the better option.
Get water backpack with a straw for the hikes for the hike.
Buy water, snacks and drinks when you arrive there at a local grocery store.
The hiking sticks didn’t seem needed, most people were just carrying them around, unless you plan to do more strenuous hikes, then maybe.
We got a small yeti cooler (hopper flip 12) that we kept in the car, full of ice, cold drinks, yogurt and cheese. It kept the food and drinks ice cold all day with not that much ice.
If you plan to sit down on the horseshoe bend rocks make sure to bring a blanket, the rocks get extremely hot.
This is an overview of our summer vacation. I will be doing separate blog posts on the national parks and state parks that we visited to narrow down a few details about each location.
We recently took a trip to Portland, and we had the absolute best time there. It was our first time traveling with three kids, and it was so much easier than I imagined. Our travel with Southwest was so family friendly, they allowed me to bring along our infant car seat because the plane is at half capacity as a safety measure due to Covid-19, so Ethan napped in there, and Noah and Isla kept themselves entertained with their toys, snacks, stickers, and coloring books.
Our trip consisted with lots of family time, which was my favorite part of it all. There is nothing better then spending the days hanging out with family, summer nights outside, lots of conversations, kids playing games and everyone creating the best memories together.
The kids loved spending all day outside because the space, weather and cousins were just right for that.
We visited our favorite sights along the Columbia River, which are;
Chanticleer Point
Latourell falls
Multnomah falls
Vista house
All these sights are on the way to each other.
Normally we would head over to downtown and explore there, but right now is not the best time to hangout there.
We spent a morning at Vancouver Waterfront Park. The waterfront is very relaxing and beautiful. Afterwards we went to a nearby playground and farmers market.
Before we headed over to Oregon, I contacted a photographer and scheduled to take family photos, the Columbia Gorge is beautiful for that and she did amazing capturing our family.
I love that Oregon has so many fruits growing everywhere we found blackberries, plums, and apples in the most random places.
On Monday we went to Ski Bowl Mount Hood, during the summer they a lot of outdoor activities available for the whole family, mini golf course, bike rides, tubing, rides, rock climbing wall, outdoor sport, and go-karts. And the views are so beautiful there.
This was not our first trip to Portland, but it was the first trip that we did the least exploring. I’m so glad we got to spend most of our time with loved ones.
Can’t believe it’s been a month since our little one came into the world. The entire family is so in love with him already. And with each passing day he changes so much, it seems.
What a stressful yet peaceful last few weeks of pregnancy. The most stressful thing was hearing my doctor tell me at my 37 week appointment about the new COVID-19 protocols of the hospital. The protocols included if I test positive for COVID-19 even if I’m asymptotic then the hospital would take my child away for up to 2 weeks, and my husband would need to leave immediately and could not be present for the delivery. This stressed me out, but then peace overfilled me the last two weeks of pregnancy, because God is always on our side. Those who call on Him he will not forsake.
Now onto the birth story:
At my 38 week appointment my doctor checked for dilation and I was told I was 2 cm, and that didn’t change for 2 weeks. At 40 weeks I was the same. My doctor suggested getting an induction date scheduled, but I asked to wait another week, this was my third pregnancy (other two natural deliveries at 40 weeks 2/3 days) and I knew baby Ethan would come naturally too.
I left the doctor office and told my doctor I’ll see you Sunday, I had just guessed that he would come Sunday because my other babies both were born at 40 weeks and 2/3 days.
Saturday night around 2am I started to feel mild menstrual cramp pains, I knew that this only indicated one thing, Labor is starting. I started to feel the pain/contractions every 20 minutes until 4am. And then all the pain and contractions went away suddenly. I slept in until 10am and didn’t feel any contractions in between that time. I was so confused and assumed that it was all just Braxton Hicks.
That morning my husband and I decided to clean our cars. All morning I hadn’t felt any discomfort or contractions, honestly for the rest of the day until 5pm I didn’t feel anything.
I’d say this is when the real labor process started for me. Around 5pm we went for a walk around the neighborhood and toward the end of the walk I started to feel contractions again. So I started to monitor and time my contractions. They were very sporadic, (for example every 10 minutes,20 minutes, back to 13 minutes) nothing consistent to head to the hospital yet.
I started to do small things around the house, and then sat down to relax on the couch, if today was going to be the day I give birth, I knew my body needed rest beforehand. Contractions were still very sporadic but getting more intense and stronger. My contractions were 8 minutes apart consistently for 3 contractions, they were extremely painful, and that’s when we decided it was time to head to the hospital.
On our drive to the hospital it was almost like everything stopped, the hospital was 12 minutes away so I only had one contractions on our drive there . During our drive I told my husband “maybe it’s to early. Let’s just go back home and wait it out alittle bit until contractions are closer to together. The nurses will probably take me as a joke” I said this because I was able to have a full conversation, and even laugh on the drive to the hospital, except when feeling that one contraction.
We pulled up and parked, it was pouring rain at the moment so we decided to wait a few minutes in the car until the rain subsided a little bit. After about 10 minutes we started to walk inside the hospital. It almost felt like my contractions were closer together already. The doctor in triage checked for dilation and told me I was 6 cm and 80% effaced, at this point my contractions were definitely about 3 minutes apart. I was admitted, and taken to my room, an hour later I was 8cm, and asked for the epidural. My doctor asked if my water had broke, and because it hadn’t yet, I was able to receive the epidural so late. Once the epidural was administered I felt more relief.
After an hour of being “comfortable” because of the epidural the doctor came into the room. And after 5 minutes of pushing, little Ethan was in my arms.
The after effect of this labor was so different then my other two kids. My body was shaking for 15 minutes afterwards and I felt very cold. I think this was also an after effect from the epidural.
The morning of Noah’s birthday, i made him pancakes. He loves eating pancakes in the morning and always requests them with a little bit of sprinkles. So i decided to make him some pancakes, and he was allowed breakfast in bed for the first time. He also loved blowing out the candles.
Loved celebrating our first-born son, he turned three and it
still surprises me that I became a mom three years ago. Since Noah is at an age
where he understands and is starting to prefer certain things I let him choose
his birthday theme. We originally started with a firetruck theme and ended with
a construction theme.
I decided to make an outdoor party for him because with
three year old’s its easier when they can run around and get their energy out
outside, and luckily we got some amazing weather that day, and even some wind
which made me change up some of my decoration ideas.
I love the balloon arch fad that is currently going on and decided
to implement it in Noah’s birthday.
This was so easy to make, it took some time but it was easy
because I bought a balloon arch strip from amazon and then balloons from dollar
tree, and after blowing up the balloons I just put them on the strip. But I couldn’t
have done this without help, my sisters and husband are to thank for that, they
helped blow up balloons and put them on the strip.
Favors:
I bought construction hats for everyone to take home and put
together some goodie bags. The construction hats I bought off amazon, it was a
set of 24. The clear goodie bags I bought from dollar tree and filled with them:
snacks, construction truck toys, candies and a slinky. For the smaller kids
under one years old I just put a fruit pouch and a snack in their pouch. I tied
off the goodie bags with black ribbon and a printable on cardstock paper, I got
my free printable from http://athomewithashley.com/dons-construction-birthday-party/
. .
The cake was made by my mom and we put some construction
machines on top with crumbled up cake, and the construction cones are from
target. Also, the birthday sign on the table is from target, although I originally
planned to put this on my balloon arch, the wind had other plans for me.
To Noah, the one who made me a momma, I love you son, and wish all the best in your life. May your days be filled with love, laughter and joy. May you seek the Lord always and continue to be the sweetest little guy ever.
Our kids grow so fast and we are always wanting to capture
all those special moments in their lives. This past March our beautiful baby
girl turned one years old and I can’t even believe it, this is something every
parent will say, “they grow up fast”, but honestly this statement cannot be
more true. I loved creating ideas for Isla’s first birthday, but the memories
created from that day will be memories to hold onto forever. We did an
immediate family only party for her first birthday, and it was perfect. My mother
made a dinner with beef, ribs, mash potatoes, and two different types of leafy salads.
And my mother in law brought her delicious cheesecake squares and she made both
the smash cake and cake for everyone to enjoy. I made the Oreo balls, which
were so tasty.
I loved implementing different shades pink and gold together.
A little breakthrough of where I got all my decorations,
notice a lot of the decorations are DIY, making this party very budget friendly,
I spent $50 total for everything.
Table scape:
The eucalyptus was from Trader Joe’s, I noticed they have
the best prices on greenery and sell a good size bunch. I used eucalyptus all
down the table with gold candle holders in between. The candle holders are from
dollar tree, and so are the white candle sticks. I spray painted the gold
candle holder’s gold, since I bought them clear.
The circles above the cake table are three hula hoops from
dollar general which I spray painted gold and the white roses are from dollar
tree, I bought a bundle of fake roses and then cut them at the top of the stem
and hot glued them down. I used fish line and hot glue to attach the eucalyptus
to the hula hoops, I tried using hot glue and it didn’t work out. The white vases
holding the roses on the cake table are from Joanna which were both on sale
(half off) ($4 each). Also, the roses and eucalyptus in the vases are from
Trader Joe’s, like I said before they sell very decent priced florals. The white
goodie bags on the table are from dollar tree, and inside I put a fruit pouch,
a snack and a small toy.
I am so thankful for the help from family and couldn’t be
happier with how everything turned out.
And to my sweet Isla, I wish her the best, many days of joy,
laughter, and may she continue to feel the love from everyone forever. Also,
may her strength come from the Lord. My little blessing, I love you!
dianamaksimchuk 