Sierra and Her Sisters

Sierra is already three and a half months new, if you can believe that. Of course at this age, they change constantly. She smiles all the time. She is rolling over all the time now. She still has blue eyes and one adorable dimple. Her hair is growing longer quickly, and she has plenty of it. She is as pale as Jenna is dark. The solo picture is maybe around a month, and the group picture puts her close to a month and a half. It's a keeper! And just in case anyone wondered? There will not be a Bice boy. Alan recently told someone after being asked where they could "buy" one of these that "it is a discontinued item." It is time now to watch the family grow together, and do the best job we can to raise them well. Stay tuned, and if you missed the Potty Buzz, be sure to scroll down the page. It's a recent event, but was posted before some birthday updates.

Mason Turned Six

Mason celebrated her 6th birthday this year with her classmates from kindergarten and a few other friends at the local playground (now walking distance from our new home). We downgraded from Chuck E. Cheese (her 5th birthday) to Costco pizza. Ha ha. She insisted on an Ariel the Mermaid cake. For the first time ever, we bought the cake. We were in process of moving and did not have the time nor resources to make Ariel. She didn't seem to mind the store bought cake. Whew!

See how grown up she looks? First grade, here comes Mason!

Mackenzie Turned Three

For weeks prior to her birthday, Mackenzie could talk about nothing less than her monkey birthday. We had decided to make her a monkey cake, hence her monkey birthday. She was very excited for this day, although she did NOT want to celebrate at school, only at home. Regardless, she was not unhappy to have cupcakes at school or to wear a crown commemorating her special day. She especially likes wearing dresses. What a girl she is!

For her birthday, she received roller skates, a ukulele, and many other nice things. Although she cannot ride her skates alone yet (and we haven't practiced in many weeks), they are definitely entertaining. We are also waiting for her to begin jamming on her beautiful, bright yellow uke.

Potty Buzz

Every once in awhile, Jenna expresses a desire to sit on the potty. We always encourage it. A couple weeks ago, such a desire was voiced. I helped her set it up with the potty seat. She sat, did nothing, wiped, got up, and repeated the sequence a couple more times before finally flushing and putting away the potty seat. I returned to the office, because I had been working. Jenna did not reappear. I went back to the bathroom. To my surprise, I found her struggling to lift herself back up out of the toilet. She had opened it and sat back down, without the potty seat. Subsequently, she fell it...literally...butt first. She never made a sound to indicate this problem. When I pulled her out, I merely stuck her in the shower to hose down her entirely wet backside...just in case.

This past Friday, Jenna had a poop of such magnificent proportions in her pull-up, that I threw my hands up in the air and said "Enough!" We switched her to big girl underwear, and by today, Sunday, she is going potty almost every time, with fewer accidents, and a definite pride of success in her eye. Yay! Almost back to one in diapers!

More later on Mackenzie and Mason's birthday, as well as our recent move into a bigger house.

It's a...

Some of you followed our daily saga on Facebook, but for those that did not, here is our last birth story.

Forty weeks came and went. We expected that. Both Mason and Mackenzie were born two days after their projected due dates. Why should this one be any different? (Jenna doesn't count, since the circumstances surrounding her birth were very different.) So, two days later, when the baby still didn't come, we were kind of surprised. But, it occurred to us that both Mason and Mackenzie were born on Saturdays. So, maybe we were meant to be four days late - April 25th.



That theory, too, was wrong. Each day become more unbearable. Each night, we went to sleep. Each morning, we woke up, disappointed. Then, the antenatal testing began. Baby's healthy, baby's comfortable, fluid is fine, come back in two or three days if the baby still isn't born.



The baby's grandfather (Papa) who was visiting and helping with the girls could no longer remain, after extending his trip an extra week. One week after the projected due date of April 21, he flew home. Still no baby, but another round of antenatal testing and one night of false hope, when contractions began, but were not regular enough.



As we watched April come to a close, we lost hope for our children to have birthdays in March, April, May, and June. We were now guaranteed two May birthdays, and no April baby.

Eleven days late, on a Saturday, no less, May 2nd, to be precise, the real contractions began. This time, they left mom breathless. After about four hours of them, they became quite frequent. First, the call to a friend went out, to help with the girls. Then, the call to our midwife followed. We told her it wasn't urgent, but it was definitely happening. When she arrived, I was in the bathroom and had asked Alan to start the bath. I moved from the toilet to the bathtub, and it was there I remained, despite plans for a birth in the living room. :-)



Not long after our midwife arrived (maybe 45 minutes), I swore to her that I was ready to push. She reminded me that I had done this before, and if I felt that urge, she was not inclined to check, because I know my body. She was right. A few pushes later and...we had ourselves a baby girl! She floated out into the tub, behind me, as I was on my hands and knees. Alan caught her, and the midwife watched before preparing to care for both the baby and me.



The birth went as smoothly as we could've hoped. By about 8 PM, we were all resting in bed, eating dinner, and sharing our new little girl with her big sisters.



Three weeks later, we decided on her name: Sierra Kelsey Bice. It was "voted" on by her sisters, her dad, and her mom. Here is a picture shortly after her birth.



More updates about Mackenzie's third birthday and Mason's sixth birthday will come in time - sooner rather than later, this time!

Is Deb Pregnant or What?

After 40 fast, but sometimes long weeks, we have reached the projected due date, April 21st, for the last baby to enter this family. However, as of this morning, the baby is still firmly packed inside mom's tummy. Alan, Deb, and all the girls are anxiously awaiting the baby's arrival, as is Papa, who is still with us after two weeks, and will stay until the baby makes its appearance known to the outside world. Here are some pictures as the pregnancy has progressed.

Wow! It's Been 3 Months!!

Where in the world has the time flown? We intended to post an update after Jenna's birthday, which was March 20th, but that doesn't even begin to account for the two months prior. Sometimes, life really does get in the way!

So, we'll start with Jenna's birthday anyhow. She turned two back in March. We celebrated with a small family party and a "kitty cat" cake (orange, to look like our cats Blaze and Tom). Jenna couldn't quite figure out the blowing out candles bit, but she had no trouble unwrapping presents.

This was a big milestone birthday for all of us, considering she was born ten weeks preemie. She had her 2-year physical and was on all the charts, with her highest marks going to her head size. (Pretty normal for all the Bice girls.) She's talking now in near sentences. She loves puzzles. But the favorite pastime for her and especially her two big sisters is to ride bikes.

Yes, Mason has learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Hurray! The freedom it has given her is absolutely amazing. She can ride in sharp circles, up and down bumps, pretty much anywhere we let her go. Her only downfall is when she hits water in the road. She had a pretty good fall this past week on some water, but we hope to get her back on her bike quickly. She's asking for a kickstand now, so we don't think she's been deterred. She took her first "bike ride" with her dad. It was about a half mile to a friend's house. She did great! Since then, she's been riding longer and longer rides with her Papa, who is here helping with the kids (who had a two-week long spring break). Mom needed lots of help, as the due date for Bice Baby #4 has rapidly approached.

Mackenzie is also a pro on the bicycles. We purchased a bigger bike for Mason, and gave Mackenzie Mason's first two-wheel bike, putting the training wheels back onto it. She motors around the neighborhood like it's second nature, although she gets nervous going down hills. Up hills, however, she has the endurance of a true athlete. She has learned to pedal faster and can motor right up a hill like it's effortless. Maybe we'll take the training wheels off even earlier for her.

Lest we forget, Jenna attended her very first day of preschool, with big sister, Mackenzie, just before spring break. She was a little confused that she didn't just drop off Mackenzie and leave with mom, but in the end, the teachers reported that both girls had a great day! They played together, ate together, there was no crying from Jenna, and it was deemed a success. Jenna is returning to school today, with Mackenzie, for the first day back after the break. Hopefully, it will be another success.

With that said, we've added some photos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!