La Vida Loca De Flores

Wow, it's so hard to believe that it was four whole years ago that my stomach was stretched to the limits, I had to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes, and my feet and ankles were so swollen that I could feel the water jiggle in them when I walked, yet I dreaded the day that I knew would inevitably come when I would no longer feel that wonderful feeling of my baby getting the hiccups at precisely the same time every day, and his little legs jabbing me in the stomach, liver, bladder, or whichever other part of my body he chose to abuse at the moment. This being my fourth pregnancy and realizing that it could be my last, I tried so hard to remember and cherish each and every wonderfully uncomfortable moment.

We had a family vacation planned to Wyoming that summer and had just finished with baseball/softball/teeball. Needless to say, I was a little stressed, and super busy...so the possibility of a pregnancy was the last thing on my mind. The thought didn't even occur to me until we were off on our trip and I had a chance to relax and realized things were a little "out of the ordinary." But, I had big plans for my vacation....so I went ahead and went white water rafting and THEN took the pregnancy test, which obviously came out positive! I was definitely a little rattled and kept the information to myself, even "fibbing" to my little sister (who was also on the vacation). Maybe fibbing wouldn't be the right word. "Deflecting" may be a better word...as we were walking around West Yellowstone shopping, she point blank asked me "So, are you guys going to have any more kids?" I shrugged and said..."I doubt it..."

I obviously later came to terms with the life changing blue line and was eventually happy and excited about the prospect of a new baby in the house...as were the other kids. They had all been begging for a baby sister with big brown eyes and lots of curly black hair...their order was very specific! When we told them the news, visions of pink blankets and ribbons and bows filled our heads for the next few months....until.....that fateful day of the all telling ultrasound! I will never forget the excitement in our home that day as we all knew we may possibly be finding out that we were going to have a little girl. Sierra was very positive we would be as she had been praying for a baby sister every night since she heard the news, and she was SO faithful that Heavenly Father was going to answer her prayers in the way that she wanted...and admittedly that was my hope too!

Ultrasound tech: "So would you like to know the sex of the baby?"
Me: "Yes, if you can tell..."
Ultrasound tech: "So what do you have at home now?" (meaning kids)
Me: "A girl and two boys..."
Ultrasound tech (happily): "Well, how about another boy..."
Me: "OH NO!" (I know what an awful reaction!!)
Ultrasound tech: (Confused look!)
Me: "I mean...that's great, it's just my other kids are going to be devastated..."

And they were...Sierra and Blaze almost cried. I felt so bad for them and they had another 4 months before they could see his sweet face and fall in love with him. Each time I would go for an ultrasound, Sierra would longingly ask..."Are they SURE it's a boy?" and I would have to tell her yes...there was pretty substantial proof that even my untrained eye could see, but she didn't give up and clung to her little bit of hope until the very end. As I made some very cute cowboy blankets and bedding for him, she would look at me and say "But what if it isn't a boy?"

On Monday, February 9, 2004 at 1:30 in the afternoon, Kolt arrived to show her that she indeed had a baby brother! He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces and had the deepest dimples I had ever seen, not to mention he definitely had the most hair of any of my babies! His temperature was a little low, so they whisked him off to the warming lights in the nursery and I was left to myself to get some needed rest. By the time Mike brought the kids back to the hospital later in the evening, he was still in the nursery. So the Mike took them down to have a look the old fashioned way, through the glass, and when the nurse picked him up to show them, Jett said..."He's Mowgli!" He did indeed look like Mowgli, naked (except for a diaper) with a ton of crazy black hair! They, of course, forgot about the elusive baby sister, and immediately fell in love with their adorable baby brother!

Thankfully, he doesn't run around naked much anymore, but he still has those adorable dimples and when I get behind in my Mommy duties, his beautiful black hair can return to it's "Mowgliness," which he does not care for one bit. He is very adamant about needing a hair cut when his hair starts to get out of control, and he was actually a little upset when I recently put this picture of him (almost 6 months old) before his first haircut in a photo frame on the wall.
When he saw it, he was pretty mad and said, "I don't like that!" I went ahead and hung it up anyway because I love it and he just tries his best to ignore the picture that he doesn't like.

At (almost) 4 years old, his favorite things are playing cars, Legos, and Diego Rescue Center, he loves to watch his favorite TV shows (Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, Handy Manny), he loves to color, to play outside, and pretty much whatever his older brothers are doing. He is enjoying being a Sunbeam in Primary and loves his new teacher, Sister Vorwaller, but still has many fond memories of his days in Nursery and still remembers all of his teachers he had in there and will point them out at church! His favorite foods are fruits and vegies...his favs are "Cuties," cucumbers, lettuce (plain), apples, bananas, grapes, and carrots. I won't say he would choose these over candy and treats because he definitely loves those too, but he will usually prefer fresh produce over whatever "hot" dinner I make and will actually get excited when he sees cucumbers in the fridge! He also really loves his Mommy, Daddy, Sister, and Brothers...especially Jett, who he says is his best friend!

Heavenly Father truly sent us a sweet, loving, precious, healthy, happy Spirit to join our family 4 years ago and we are so thankful for the many blessings Kolt has brought to our family every day since!