The Toyn Family

We don’t get many visitors at our house, so we were thrilled when a bunch of Nick’s family members were able to come visit us for New Year’s weekend. His parents, Matt and Caramie and their girls, and Steph and her husband Josue were all able to come. They got here early Saturday afternoon and were able to stay until late Monday morning. We had a great time just hanging out, playing card games, watching the kids play and watching movies. It was especially fun to watch Steph and Josue with Austin, since they are expecting their first baby in June. They are going to be great parents! We also felt very privileged to have Matt and Caramie and their girls come since they are living in Nebraska right now while Matt goes to law school. We haven’t seen them in a long time and it will be summer before we get to see them again, so it was a special treat. Thanks to everyone for coming!

Austin is already 2 1/2 weeks old! He had his 2 week appointment last week and already weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. He is growing so fast, and it makes me sad. I know his first year is going to fly by. I wish I could figure out how to freeze time just for a little while. We are loving this addition to our family. The last few pictures are from Austin in the last week. I can’t get enough of this little guy!!!

The 2011 Christmas season was so special for us this year. It was so much fun to be expecting a little baby boy right around Christmas. It helped remind me of the reason we were celebrating Christmas in the first place. Austin and I were discharged from the hospital the afternoon of Christmas Eve. On the way home, we picked up my pain medication and then went home and relaxes for a couple hours. Before we knew it, it was time to head down to my mom’s house for a Christmas Eve celebration! We ate delicious food that my mom somehow found time to prepare while watching my 3 oldest children, watched the kids act out the Nativity while Adam read the story, and then Santa came and brought jammies, books, and ornaments for the kids. Even though I had just gotten out of the hospital, it was a great way to spend the evening. The next morning, the kids got up about 7:30 and we headed to the living room to see what Santa had brought. The boys each got a game for their Mobigo systems and Emma got a pony. About 8:00 my mom and Lynn came up to watch the kids open the rest of their presents. They got a lot of fun things that have helped keep them busy while I feed Austin. Thanks, everyone! The rest of the morning, we just hung out and played with the kids and gave Austin a bath. Christmas afternoon, we headed down to my mom and Lynn’s house for another yummy dinner of beef tenderloin and my mom’s famous orange rolls. I ate way more than I should have! For gifts this year, my mom and Lynn gave everyone some money, then we were to buy something we wanted, wrap it up and put it under their tree then unwrap it on Christmas and surprise them with what we got. That was a fun idea and it was fun to see all the different things people chose.
I love Christmas. I love the reason we celebrate Christmas. I’m so grateful for my Savior. I’m grateful for all the many blessings I have been given. I’m especially grateful to be a mother to 4 wonderful children. My hands are definitely full, but they are full of wonderful things and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

On the morning of December 22nd, Nick and I headed to the hospital bright and early for a scheduled c-section. I was extremely nervous about the procedure (even though it was my 3rd c-section) but also super anxious to meet this little boy I had been carrying around in my tummy for the last 9 months. My mom had taken the kids the night before, so Nick and I were able to get a good night’s sleep and it was easy to get the 2 of us ready to go in the morning. After getting my spinal, I lay on the operating table anxiously awaiting my baby’s first cry. Well, 6 minutes after the doctor started the procedure, I heard him for the first time. I was bawling. I looked over to where they were cleaning off my little guy to see that he wasn’t so little! My first thought when I saw him was “he is huge!” He weighed in at at a whopping 7 lbs. 11 oz, and while that may not seem huge to everyone else, it’s a pound and a half bigger than Emma was and 2 1/2 pounds bigger than the boys were. As soon as the baby was placed in my arms I fell in love. I feel fortunate that I have been able to fall in love 5 times in the last 5 1/2 years. It’s amazing how your heart just grows with each child you have so you have plenty of love for everyone. We decided to name our new guy Austin Kevin Toyn.

We came home from the hospital Saturday afternoon, so Austin and I were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our family. The first night, Austin did not sleep well at all. I think I got less than 2 hours of sleep total. However, last night was great! He ate at 8:00 pm and then only got up at 1 and 5:45 to eat and went right back to sleep. Nick and I are so excited to have this little guy as part of our family. He was the best Christmas present either of us could have asked for. So far, the other kids absolutely adore him. Welcome to our crazy family, Austin!

Today is my last day as a mother of 3. Tomorrow, I will go into the hospital bright and early and have my c-section about 7:30 am. I can’t believe I get to meet my 4th child tomorrow and thinking about that has made me think a lot about the 3 children I have and how lucky I am to be a mother to them. I think I have learned more from being a mom in the last 4 1/2 years than I have learned in my entire life. Now, I may be a little bit biased, but I think I’ve got some pretty awesome kids. I love how different of them are from each other and I just wanted to write down a few of the things that I love about each of them.

Brennan is my oldest (by about 30 seconds), and also my most enthusiastic child. Everything is his “favorite” and as Nick pointed out to me a few weeks ago, he is very much like Buddy the Elf in the movie Elf. He thinks everything is amazing and he truly loves everyone. He tells me all the time that I am his best friend and he loves to give hugs. Brennan is not shy by any means, and loves to make friends with everyone he meets. Brennan wants everyone to like him and is constantly asking if we are happy with him. Well, we are! This little guy has a contagious smile and I am so glad to have him as part of our family.

Enthusiastic Brennan.

Brayden was born very shortly after Brennan. The doctor says they were a minute apart but it really felt a lot quicker than that. Brayden is very much a peacemaker and has been ever since moments after he was born. Brennan screamed and screamed after he was born, but as soon as the nurses put the boys together, Brayden grabbed Brennan’s hand as if to say “It’s ok. I’m here now.” Brennan immediately stopped crying. Brayden will spend hours playing with Emma and trying to make her happy. He speaks to her in the sweetest voice. Brayden is much shyer than his twin brother, he takes after me that way. It takes him some time to warm up to people, but then he gets along with everyone very well. He can sit and color for hours, and his ability to focus astounds me. Brayden tries very hard to be a good boy and has a really hard time when he does something wrong and gets in trouble. I can tell he is embarrassed by it, and I know how he feels, because he is just like me. I love this little guy!

Sweet Brayden.

Emma is our little princess. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger and I think she knows it. I think she was probably the easiest baby in the world. When she turned 1, she got a little bit sassy, but she’s still mostly sweet. She loves to play with her brothers and to feel like she’s one of the big kids. When I call her my baby, she shakes her finger at me and says “No baby!” Emma knows how to make us all laugh and I think she finds a new way to be funny every day. She is a bit of a tom boy and loves to play with frogs and fish, but she also likes to dress up in girly clothes and have her hair done. It’s been fun to have a little girl and see the differences there really are between little boys and little girls. We are so glad we got to add her to our family almost 2 years ago.

Beautiful Emma.

As I prepare to meet this little boy tomorrow (and no, he doesn’t have a name yet), I am so excited and a little nervous. I wonder if I will be able to be a good mom to all 4 kids. I’m nervous about working a newborn’s schedule into the schedule we already have. All of these worries however, do not compare with how excited I am to see what this little guy looks like, and watch him grow and develop. I have absolutely no doubts that I will love him as much as I love my other kids. It’s funny how your heart grows with every child you have. I am especially grateful that I am having this little boy right before Christmas. To be honest, it has been stressing me out ever since I found out I was expecting a baby so close to Christmas, but now as the time approaches, my heart is filled with gratitude as it is such a special reminder of another baby boy born over 2000 years ago. What an honor and a privilege it is to be a mom. It is a difficult job, and I’m definitely not the best mom in the world, but I wouldn’t trade this opportunity for anything. Thank you to everyone that has helped me during this pregnancy and for those that will help during my recovery and even beyond that. I couldn’t do this job alone. I especially want to thank Nick, my mom, and my sister Shauna. You guys are amazing and I couldn’t do this without you. My kids are lucky to have such great extended family members and I know they love you all very much!

I LOVE these kids!!!

This Christmas season has been an interesting time for our little family. Knowing ahead of time, that I would be huge and uncomfortable by the month of December, I made a goal to get all my Christmas shopping and wrapping done early so I could just enjoy (haha) the last month of my pregnancy. I got all the shopping done by Thanksgiving and was quite relieved! Then, Nick talked me into making a couple of homemade gifts for people, so I spent a lot of time working on those. I didn’t think I would finish before the baby came, but I am happy to say all the work is done. We just need to wrap a few presents and we will be all ready! We got a Christmas tree set up shortly after Thanksgiving and gave each of the kids their ornaments. We give them a new ornament each year, and when they leave home they can take them all with them. The boys got soccer ornaments to remember their first year playing soccer, which was interesting to say the least. Last weekend, I went to lunch with my mom, sister, and cousin and had so much fun. It was nice to have a girls’ day out. Well, while we were out, I picked up a gingerbread house kit to do with the kids later that day. While Nick was watching the kids, they also went out and got a gingerbread house kit! Lol. Great minds think alike, huh? Well, the kids had a blast covering the gingerbread house with candy. In the end, it ended up looking like a tornado hit the gingerbread house, but it was a lot of fun for the whole family.

This Christmas season has been very special for me. Here I am carrying a little baby boy as we celebrate another baby boy born long ago. I feel so blessed to be a mother. My kids are crazy, special, amazing gifts from Heavenly Father. Every time I feel my baby move, I feel full of gratitude for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon our little family. My c-section is scheduled for next Thursday morning at 7:30 am, which means I will be bringing my baby boy home on Christmas Eve. While that might make for a crazy Christmas, I can think of no better way to remember and celebrate our Savior’s birth. I can’t wait to meet this little guy and smother him with kisses in just a few short days!

This morning my mom and I took the kids to see Santa! I know it isn’t Thanksgiving yet, and some of you will be upset by that, but I am at the point in my pregnancy where I feel like hibernating until the baby comes (which will be a month of less from tomorrow). The boys were pretty excited when we told them where we were going, but I was a little worried about how Emma would react to me handing her off to a stranger. She was pretty apprehensive at first, but she sat on Santa’s lap without throwing a fit, and I was very grateful for that. The boys told Santa they each want a rocking chair, a race car game and a flashlight. I’m not sure why they want rocking chairs, or where we would put them, so Santa might just have to ignore that request (plus Santa has already gone shopping). Anyway, the boys were thrilled when Santa gave them each a coloring book and asked him if they could have an extra one to give to Grandma. Lol. After visiting Santa, we let the kids play for awhile in the little play area inside the mall. The boys quickly made a new friend and spend the entire time chasing each other around. I’m not even sure how my mom was able to get any pictures of them! Emma loved playing in the play area as well, and since she wasn’t running around like a crazy 4-year-old boy, my mom some really cute pictures of her. It was such a fun morning. I feel very grateful to be living close to family so we can do fun things like this!

Halloween this year was super crazy and a lot of fun. The boys were really into it and Emma got into it a lot more than I thought she would. Nick was out of town on a super long business trip, which was a bummer, but we managed to have a good time anyway. Before he left, Nick helped the kids carve pumpkins. The kids really didn’t want to touch the pumpkin guts and it took a lot of bribing, but I finally convinced them to help pull the guts out and then they were so proud of themselves. Silly kids.

Halloween morning started out with me getting the boys ready for their party at school. They were so excited to wear their costumes to school and when Emma saw them getting dressed up, she ran and grabbed her costume and wanted to wear it. The boys had a great time at their party and couldn’t wait to go trick or treating. Well after a few painful hours of waiting, we went over to my Mom’s house, where we met my sister as well as her friend, Jennifer, and her 2 boys. My mom was so kind to make us all chili and corn bread for dinner. The kids were all too excited to eat much, but the adults really enjoyed the yummy food. We also took some cute pictures of the kids outside before we headed out for trick or treating. The kids had such a great time trick or treating and they didn’t even complain about having to walk, which I was a little worried about it. I’m so glad my sister was with me, because she did most of the lifting and carrying of Emma. After trick or treating we headed home and I got the kids in bed. We had a great day, and I appreciate all the help from my mom and sister to make it a special day for the kids.

I am almost 34 weeks pregnant and definitely feeling it. I’m super exhausted and huge, and I can’t wait to meet this little guy. We still haven’t decided on a name but hope to have one chosen before he goes to kindergarten. I still have a lot to do before he is born and 5 1/2 weeks or less to do it all, so I should probably go get on that!

On Monday, my wonderful sister came over to help me go through all the boys’ old clothes and organize them to see what we could use for the new baby and what we still need to buy. It turns out we’ll be buying a lot of clothes for the first two years since the seasons are exactly opposite from when Brennan and Brayden were born, but after that, he’ll have plenty of clothes that will work. There were 11 bins of clothes to go through! Ok, one bin just had blankets in it, but it was still a lot of work! I had a lot of fun looking at all the cute outfits I haven’t seen for awhile, and having my sister there to help made my day. I’m so glad to have another project done! Thanks, Shauna!!! Oh, and there is also an updated pregnancy pic for everyone. I’m getting quite large! Only 10 weeks to go!

On Saturday, Nick and I decided to take the kids to a pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. We weren’t really sure where to go, and the place we found wasn’t exactly what we had in mind, but the kids loved it. The pumpkins were already picked and sorted, so all we had to do is let the kids each pick one for themselves and pick one for the baby. They thought it was great that they could pick out whichever one they wanted, and I was relieved that the ones they picked were normal pumpkins, not like the weird ones they picked out last year. It was a fun day.

As of today, I am officially in my third trimester! Also, I have 11 weeks until my scheduled c-section. To be honest with you, it still seems like it’s a long ways away, but I know I’ll be holding this sweet little guy before I know it. In preparation, I have been trying to get on top of my Christmas shopping and wrapping. I am done with the shopping for Nick and the kids, so now I just have to figure out 3 sets of parents and mine and Nick’s siblings. I have also started wrapping the kids presents. I feel like I’m doing pretty well at getting things checked off of my “to-do before the baby comes” list, but I still have a ton of projects that I need to finish. For example, we need to paint a bed and dresser for Emma, move her into the guest room (which is going to require emptying out that closet which we’ve been using as storage), go through the boys old clothes to figure out what will work for the baby and what we still need to buy, set up the nursery, get out the baby gear (i.e. swings, bottles, breast pump, etc.), finish knitting my stocking and a stocking for the baby, figure out a NAME for the baby, make a car-seat cover, and make a boppy cover. Ok, now it doesn’t seem like I’m doing very well at getting all those projects done. So much to do, so little time!! Anyway, it’s very easy to feel this little guy move these days. Nick and I have a lot of fun feeling him roll around in the evenings. I feel like I already know him and I just can’t wait to see what he looks like and hold him in my arms instead of my tummy. I’ve gained 1/3 of my pre-pregnancy weight (which is actually exactly where I should be at this point) but because of that, I am starting to get quite uncomfortable. I’m really hoping he makes his debut in 9 weeks instead of 11

The boys absolutely LOVE preschool this year. They get to go 3 days a week, and that just isn’t enough for them. Their teacher is fantastic, and I have been so impressed with her. The other day, Brennan put his hand over his heart and started reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I was so proud. The boys are starting to learn how to read, and I love watching their little minds work. They are always busy boys and lots of fun.

Emma is as adorable as always. I think she keeps getting cuter. Last weekend, we both got our hair cut, and I thought Nick was going to cry. He is totally wrapped around Emma’s little finger, and he loved her hair. I wouldn’t have cut it, but it was a total mullet and it had to be done. Nick’s sister Michelle is the one that cut it and she did a great job. Emma still looks great, it’s just going to be easier to do her hair now that it’s all the same length!

This picture was taken 3 weeks ago, but with Nick working so many late nights, I keep forgetting to get new pics taken!

25 weeks

Emma loves to give kisses to her little brother.