3 kids?? now we are out-numbered....

Before the baby arrived:

We decided that if the baby wasn't going to be born, then we were going to have some fun without it, so we went hiking up in the Sandia Mountains. It was such a nice day. We packed a lunch and set out to enjoy the afternoon. Being the adventurous Dad that I am, I decided to take the kids on a short hike while the pregnant mom and her mom sat safely in the van. After about 15 minutes of hiking, Spencer and I realized that the rain was getting stronger and wasn't going to stop. We decided to bolt for the van, which was 15 minutes the other way. We ran from dry spot to spot for rest and relief from the rain. We finally emerged from the forest and made a mad dash for the van. We had a fun but wet ride home.

(If you click to enlarge the pic, you can see how drenched we are.....)

"The hiking gang."

The picnic was fun and it was nice to smell the fresh, clean air.

We also had some fun in the backyard with the slip-n-slide. I decided that someone had to show the kids how to have fun. Needless to say, I was a slip-n-slide superstar. Forward, backward, rolling sideways, baseball sliding style: I am a master of all styles.

Spencer is following in his stud dad's ways. go Spencer!

I think all the water created a sink-hole in the lawn, who cares though. We were living the superstar dream.

Dad/Son:

29 years old/ 1 day old

We really appreciate Craig & Marilyn (michelle's parents) for their help with the kids. It was nice to not have to worry about the kids while we were bringing another into the world. Thanks!

The kids missed their mom while she was at the hospital. They practically smothered her when we went to visit their new brother. Spencer asked me on the way to the hospital, "Dad, what are you going to do with 3 kids?" I wasn't quite sure how to answer. :)

As parents we will now be playing zone defense, instead of man to man.

We brought Michelle home on Tuesday, she and baby are both doing great. Parker has his 1st Dr. appointment tomorrow. This pic is when he was just a few minutes old. It shows a bit of his dark brown hair. He such a good baby, if only he would learn that night is for sleeping. Good luck to us. :)

He has arrived!!!

Parker Craig Christensen made his entrance into the world last night (7/27/08) at 8:15 pm. He is 7 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches. He has a small amount of brown hair (the other kids were pretty much bald). He has been hungry since he arrived, so I guess that means our food budget will be going up. Michelle and baby are both doing very well. We are so excited to have him in our lives now, and we'll see how the other kids adjust. I'll post more pics when I can.

Whoa!

Yikes! Didn't mean for this to be the first picture that you get to see when looking at the blog - sorry. Well, once again, not a flattering picture- that's what happens when you ask a 5 year old to take your picture while he's watching cartoons. Thanks Spence. But you get the jist of the big buddha belly. 38 weeks down - forever to go. I KNEW once I'd get off of bed rest that I would still end up going til my due date, it's just my luck... but we'll see. Maybe someone will have mercy on me and I'll end up getting this thing out of me soon. We can only hope.

Spencer has been doing swim lessons for the past two weeks. He loves it. I'm glad Jodie was here with me for the first week (still on bed rest), so that it wasn't too stressful for me :)

Spencer at swimming lessons

Today was the last day and therefore the party. Kyle got to come and partake of the excitement - don't they look excited? Carly's not feeling well today. Sad little girl.

This is at the party today. Spencer had fun running all over the place and playing in the fun pool stuff.

Ah, swim lessons are done for another year. Happy day. I usually don't mind at all, taking him everyday for two weeks, but as you all know, the last month hasn't been the easiest for me either. So, for now, I am glad it's over. I'm sure I'll be all raring to go when next year comes though... right?

Fourth of July Fun

We had a low-key fourth. ABQ doesn't have parades or anything during the day, so we stayed at home. Kyle took the kids to the zoo during the afternoon and then that night we had our fun.


Spencer is a pyro just like dad. He loved helping light the fireworks.

And Carly loves to eat just like mom. We made homemade ice cream and she devoured it.

Kyle next to the flag we bought to hang on our house. That was our contribution to being patriotic.

After doing our own little fireworks show and eating ice cream, we laid out on our back lawn and watched the fireworks show from all of our neighbors. It was absolutely amazing how many illegal fireworks were everywhere... it was sure a good show! And we didn't have to spend any of OUR money to enjoy it!

Just our Spencer.
Check out what's left of his black eye.