Happy Easter!

It was such a beautiful day yesterday... the Easter Bunny came, we went to church as a family, we all took a nap, we had an egg hunt and a wonderful dinner at the Toffoli's. What could be better? Here are the kids before we left for Pasadena. The Easter Bunny brought the cool sunglasses! Family picture
Grandma with her grandkids
Waiting for the egg hunt to start!
Joshua slept through the egg hunt
Allison wasted no time checking out the goods. Notice all the m&m's stored in her dress!
Zachary wanted to open (and eat) each egg before he even found another one. He definitely has a sweet tooth!
As always, Annie was so sweet with the younger kids. They love playing with her. She only got one little break to hold Joshua before the kids were looking for her to come play with them.
As if the candy weren't enough, Zachary spotted the cupcakes and ate every last bite. Allison almost always passes on the sweets, but that didn't stop her from eating the whole bowl of pistachios at 9:00 at night!
Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Sleepyheads!

I was uploading my pictures from the past week and noticed that the majority of them are with everyone sleeping, everyone but me that is!

Joshua is a pretty good sleeper. Notice the one sock on and one sock off! Dad may not admit it, but he can nap with the best of them!
Uncle Stevie stopped by on his way home to Utah. Steven is so good with babies. You can decide for yourself if he is really asleep or not!
I'm sure it will be hard to tell if Zachary is really asleep! He had been very sweet with the baby.
Zachary is really asleep in this picture, Ryan is just about there, and Joshua is out.
I'll get some sleep someday! Sweet dreams...

One Week Old

The one week picture is always hard to take because they fall over so quickly and easily, but they sure are fun to have! This week has gone by so fast. We have enjoyed every minute of it! Joshua is a good baby and we are so glad he is here. Zachary one week old!
Allison one week old!

Home, Healthy, & Happy

I have so many pictures of the last three days that I don't even know where to start. These are just a few of the ones that stood out. Allison and Zachary came to the hospital soon after Joshua was born. It was going on 9:00 at night, so of course Zachy had Mr. Cuddles. He was sharing it with Joshua. Such a sweet big brother!The next day when the kids came to visit they were playing "baby" in the room. Crying, crawling around on the floor, etc. Ryan decided to put them in the "baby's bed" and they thought that was sooo much fun!
Zachy pretending he's asleep!
Leaving the hospital.
Little Joshua in the car seat that looks enormous for him.
We are all happy to be home and look forward to the adventure ahead.

The Big Day

There is always so much anticipation on what the "Big Day" is going to be like. Will I get the epidural?, will there be pain?, how much will the baby weigh?, what time will he be born?, will he be healthy? Those questions are now answered, and I am so happy to say that everything went great. I arrived at the hospital 4 cm. dilated and 80% effaced with very few contractions. I learned my lesson with Allison not to wait until the contractions start because then it is too late! I got the epidural at 5:00p.m., they started pitosin at 5:30, my doctor checked me at 6:00 and said the contractions hadn't quite kicked in yet, the nurse checked me an hour later at 7:00 and I was 10 cm and ready to push. My dr. had gone home so we had to wait about a half hour for her to get back to the hospital. She arrived about 7:30 and two pushed later Joshua was born at 7:45. It was a great experience and I am both happy and sad that it is already over. Grandma Graham came from work in her scrubs and fit right with the hospital staff! I have been lucky to have her there while all three kids were born.
Auntie Nora was in the room when Allison and Zachary were born. This time she invited herself to be in the delivery room, but I wouldn't have it any other way!
Helena also was there to see baby Joshua being born. She rode down the elevator with my dr. and we had her come to see his birth. It was great having so many people that love and support you at such a special moment.
Kevin came in AFTER the birth and looks like such a pro holding the baby. He will make a great dad in about 5 months!
And of course, the only one who I really needed was Ryan. He is always so calm and excited at the same time. He is a great dad and great husband!

Joshua Graham Menlove

Well with much anticipation.....here he is! Born Friday, March 7, 2008 at 7:45 PM. 6 lbs 10 oz.

Mom and baby are resting in the hospital and doing very well.

More pictures to come when mom gets home!

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Ready or Not...

Well, today I was "checked" at my doctor's appointment and I'm 3 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. So, basically the baby is on his way! We are just waiting for contractions to start. I have not taken many pictures of this pregnancy because of all the drama that has happened. I think the last picture that was taken was at Christmas. Tonight Ryan was invited to a Hockey game, and yes he went. I am a nice wife, so anyone is welcome to remind him of that! But as I was sitting on the couch, hair pulled back, jammies on, I thought what if the baby comes tonight and I don't get a picture? So, husbandless, I turned to my 4 year old and 2 year old to get some last minute pictures! Here is Zachy's attempt! Poor kid, I never realized that is what he sees at his eye level!
Here is Allison's first attempt. I actually prefer this one because you can't see my face!
Here is the only picture taken that gives the "full" effect. Not too bad for a four year old! If the baby hangs in there a little longer, I may take a more flattering picture. But this will have to do for now! We'll keep you all posted!

My Little Chefs

Yesterday we went to story time at the library. Library time consist of a couple of stories being read, singing a song, and making a craft, all of which are part of a theme for that day. The craft usually gets hung up on the fridge for a day, or thrown in the trash (when the kids aren't looking, of course.) But yesterday the craft was making chefs hats to coordinated with the books that were read about cooking. Allison and Zachary LOVED making and wearing them! They are just made out of tissue paper and a band of heavy construction paper. I thought they looked so cute. They wore them for half of the afternoon. After I took the first picture, Allison insisted on having "cooking tools" in the picture to show that they were really chefs. Notice the whisk and wooden spoon!
Happy Cooking!!