We=4!

Meet Cole! Bryce Cole Stahle, born June 17th, 2012 @ 6:46pm. Weighed in at 8lbs, 9oz and 19 3/4" long.

Cole was very active like his brother in the womb, so we will see how that manifests itself in a year or so. :) We have been blessed to have had very uneventful births for both of our boys. I had an epidural with Lincoln, which was a very positive experience with no regrets, but we chose to switch it up this time and do a natural childbirth. It was a very intense, but profound experience.

Birth story condensed: My contractions started and were consistently 10 minutes apart at 6am. I labored at home with Dallas while he organized care for Lincoln and I made phone calls to communicate my absence from some church responsibilities. We checked into the hospital at 12:30pm with contractions averaging 5 minutes apart. (Note: Picture above is between contractions and before back labor kicked in, so that is actually a real, painless, smile...). I was dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced. For the next 5 hours, Dallas was AMAZING. We had worked hard beforehand to make sure we knew preferences and what would/wouldn't work (theoretically) and I was pretty much just able to say, "I need you!" when I could feel a contraction coming on. He was there to put counter pressure on my hips (back labor is THE worst) or massaging my back, or just letting me hang on him. I loved being able to walk around, sit, lay, or take a bath throughout the process.

At 5pm, I was dilated 7.5cm, 95% effaced and the Nurse Midwife proposed breaking my water. We waited another hour to see how much progress there was and ultimately decided to go ahead with it. That hour was the most intense and where I am most grateful for Dallas' support. In my ultimate moments of exhaustion, tears and questioning, he was extremely encouraging and just initiated the care I needed so that I didn't have to make any decisions. I felt the urge to push about 15 minutes after they broke my water and pushed for about 30 minutes more. Comparatively I would say that pushing for me was cake compared to everything I experienced beforehand. We were blessed not to have any complications, or challenges (other than the "challenge" of the delivery itself). I got to hold Cole immediately after he was born and had a seriously high adrenaline rush. The whole experience brought Dallas and I together in a way I hadn't expected. Worth. Every Minute.

Cole's first hours.

Meeting Big Brother Lincoln.

Lincoln has been so loving with Cole. Mostly too loving, but we are working on not poking, squeezing, or smushing. He is very proud to be a big brother and is quite helpful with Cole's overall care.

Mom and Brooke's Visit!

My mom and Brookie came to visit 5 days later and the timing was perfect. Dallas had arranged for Lincoln to be taken care of while we were in the hospital and for the first few days after we got out, which was SOOO great. Cole and I snuggled and bonded and Lincoln had a blast with his friends (THANK YOU to all who helped out by bringing meals, gifts and watching Linc).

Lincoln showing off his dance skills. Brookie keeping it low key so as not to out do him. :)

We had our first Family Night with Mom and Brooke and went to the new Visitor's Center at the Portland Temple. I love these pictures! (Thanks Brooke)

Some of our fun times in the first two weeks. Swimming, miniature golfing, fishing with Daddy, relaxing to Dallas playing the piano and Dallas received his long-awaited shipment of Taiwanese peanut butter.

Grandma Simmons would have been proud of this hole in one!!

We love you Cole! Welcome home. We=4!

Surprise Visit!

At Cole's 4 week mark, Brie decided to come visit by herself! It was so fun to have time to spend with just here, since her life is about to get CRAZY busy when she starts College and Track.

We picked 37lbs of cherries and dehydrated about half of them.

We also picked blueberries and marionberries and made Marionberry Jam for the first time!

Pictures above are of several adventures: Jam making, Lincoln's first reward for consistently going #2 in the toilet (Wendy's Waffle Cone Frosty), our trip to the beach in Seaside, park dates and snuggle time.

One night we went bowling at Big Al's and used our Groupon for free pizza and drinks! Lincoln loves his bowling socks. :)

The beach was quite windy, so we didn't stay long, but had Cole been older, we probably would have. Lincoln LOVED EVERY SECOND.

Thanks for making the time to visit before school Brie. We made some awesome and unforgettable memories. Kick Butt at BYU! Go Cougars!

Cole's FUN 2nd Month!

Nana came to visit us when Cole turned 5 weeks. We had so much fun visiting, going on outings, and learning lots of Nana's tricks for cooking, organizing, keeping house and decorating. Talk about creativity!

These were taken at the Portland's Children's Museum. Lincoln loves it here and thoroughly enjoyed running from exhibit to exhibit and showing Nana all the cool things to choose from. 

Nana got Cole's very FIRST smile. Not to mention she got him to smile almost every time she spoke to him. Lincoln enjoyed learning how to make Pistachio Pudding Salad from Nana too!

We took Nana to the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival. After the Children's Parade, we got to go meet Lightning McQueen and Mater! BIG-TIME score for Lincoln!!

  Jay came to complete a week long Pottery course at the Oregon College of Arts & Crafts and so we got to visit with him too! He left us with some awesome treasures and we enjoyed being able to spend one on one time with him and introduce him to his newest nephew. Dallas was able to give Jay the tour of some of his favorite Portland food places on the way to or home from work/class: Grilled Cheese Grill (above), Byways Cafe, VooDoo Doughnuts, Pine State Biscuits, McMenamins, Famous Dave's. There was also a random cat that followed them home from a walk that stayed here for a few days, and he really took to Jay, so we captured the precious moment on camera...:) 

EVERYBODY LOVES GIRLS CAMP!!!

With Cole being so new and so much going on this summer, I wasn't able to go to camp this year, but here are some pics (6 of about 400 to be exact) of what took place. All the preparations paid off and we have some AMAZINGLY talented women that helped make camp a success. However, we all know that it really is the girls and the spirits and enthusiasm they bring to camp that ensures that success!! Without them being willing to come and participate in all the ups and downs, none of the effort put forth would have been as worth it. It is so fun to see things come together and how camp always influences lives and provides learning and growth opportunities for the young women.

2012 Simmons Sibling Retreat

Brie asked if we could have a Sibling Retreat this summer before she took off to college. The last time the 5 of us were all together without kids and spouses was when she was 10. 

I flew out with the boys on August 1st to meet up with my mom and dad and brothers and sisters (and their families). We spent the first two days catching up and visiting with each other and some extended family. It was so fun to see Grandma Geri and Grandpa Jay, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Fred and Aunt Bev too!! 

On the 3rd, the 5 of us (plus Cole) went up to spend the night in a condo in Park City. We got some groceries for the next day and went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner....YUMM...

Yay for sibling bonding time. We watched the Olympics, walked around Park City, swam in the pool and just relaxed that night and the next day.  My parents, Sarah and Rachelle (Heath and Dustin's wives) watched the kids overnight and on Saturday morning, then brought everyone up to join us Saturday evening. Then, Mom and Dad watched all six grandkids so the rest of us good party!

We got to go on the huge Zip Line together and Brie and Brooke went on the Alpine Coaster...HILARIOUS video that's a bit lengthy to post. 

Dustin and Rachelle blessed their newest addition Marcus that Sunday, so it was special that everyone could be there. Our family is sure growing!!

Last weekend, we went to an annual BBQ that some of Dallas' friends put on every year. SO fun. They always have the BEST Slip-n-Slide and this year, they roasted an ENTIRE PIG...Yummmm.

Dallas and Linc heading down the Slip-n-Slide

Said Pig. Gross looking, but DELICIOUS.

RELAXING Week. Dallas left for a trip to China the day before I came home from UT and arrived the night before we went to that BBQ. SO....this week we decided that since the previous 8 were so packed full of fun that we'd take it easy and relax. Meet our new kitty. Sadly, Zee never returned. :( About a month ago, we met Izzy and just brought her home from the shelter this week. She is a very friendly cat and well behaved so far. We are glad to have her (yes, even me). :)

Lincoln also started swimming lessons this week. It has been fun to watch him progress. He goes next week again, so I will be better at taking pictures then.

Dallas and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary last night since I was in UT and Dallas was in China on the 6th. I can't believe it's already been 8 years. We created our own little food tour of sorts and enjoyed every bite...which is usually hard for me to do. We visited the Goodrich's food carts @ Cartlandia and the highlights there were Jennie's famous Creme Brulee and Pavlova from her Cake on a Hot Tin Roof. Then we went to Salt & Straw, and tasted some seriously wicked ice cream. SOOO DELISH. (See some of the concoctions on the menu below.) The Strawberry one was the best. However, I loved the Pear and Blue Cheese as well. The Chevre with Marionberry Habanero Jam was good too, but not as much as the Strawberry Honey Balsamic Vinegar and Cracked Black Pepper. :) 

Dallas took Jay to Grilled Cheese Grill while he was here, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was STUFFED before we got there, but had to try The Hot Brie. Brie cheese with roasted red pepper, fresh tomatoes, spicy brown mustard on Sourdough. I asked Dallas to stop at the George Fox track on the way to pick up the kids, so we could walk for a half hour. :) 

What a fun past few months!! New baby, travel, family, friends, anniversary, new experiences, animals and food! Life is as fun as you make it!

Love to all.