Daddy has a Mowhawk!

About a month ago.....To help Hailey not feel too sad about Megan being at a birthday party I told her that we could play "Hair Salon" and she could help me cut daddy's hair. His hair was getting pretty long! She was so excited and we decided to give him a Mohawk! You can see the delight on her face and Ryan's cringe. HA! HA! HA! He did get a decent cut after we took a few photos:)



Here's a back shot....can you tell?



Tough guy? I think he would have been beat up if he sported this hairdoo:) Sorry! But we love him!!!!!!

Electric Shock Hair!

I don't know if you can tell but I gave Matthew a bath and towel dried his hair and came up with this "Electric Shock" hair doo. I thought it was hilarious! His hair is getting so long that I'm tempted to trim it. But it's too much fun playing with and making funny hair styles. Who knew it would be this much fun with Boy's hair:)

Got LICE????

So, now that we're all feeling better from the Flu......Megan goes to school and gets sent home because they say she has HEAD LICE.....All Over! YIKES! Luckily, Ryan is home to go pick her up (while I feed/attend to Matthew)and we plop her in the shower to get her ready for the Lice Shampoo Treatment. To our horror, the label read that it should be applied to DRY hair. OOPS! So out she goes, Ryan dries her hair, applies shampoo....wait 10 minutes (an eternity for Megan) then rinse. Next, the gel and comb through to get all the dead lice/nits out....my job. Well, I carefully apply gel to 1/2 inch sections to look for the lice.......I can't find ANY.????Perplexing. I do find lots of DANDRUFF....HMMMMMMMMMMMM.

So, my friend calls up...need any help she asks. YES! Am I blind? Well, she can't find any either but concurs about the dandruff. Her daughter had it the day before and she found 25 total so she knows what to look for. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Then back in the shower to rinse and do regular shampoo just for fun. 3 Showers for Megan;)Feeling a little lucky and grateful that maybe it's a false alarm. I'm washing everything just in case. Good thing there's just one more day of school left til vacation. I checked both girls tonight again and NOTHING! I think I'll take her to the nurse in the am to have her take a looky to be sure. Wish me luck!

YUCKY FLU:(

SO we got hit with the flu this weekend. Megan woke up Sat. night around midnight and proceeded to vomit every hour until morning. Ryan and I took turns with her throughout this ordeal. YUCK! There's nothing worse than cleaning up vomit! She first threw up in the bathroom sink and it wouldn't drain so I had to reach in admist chunks of Dunkin Donuts Egg and Cheese Croissant Sandwich and Green frosted donut pieces to pull out the drain stopper. EWWWWW! Then she felt better.

Ryan left to go play organ for St. Malachy and took Hailey to sing with the Children's Choir. During the service she made her way off the stand to say she felt sick. She was able to lie down in the rectory. Then they had to rush to the Mormon choir practice and she had to tag along since there was no time to bring her home. Once they finally made it home....she threw up in the toilet. Way to hold it in, girl!

Next, around 5pm I started feeling off and proceeded to throw up once and then a second time around 7:30. I was supposed to help with the Primary Baptism Fireside which Hailey was going to attend since she'll be turning 8 in January. I had made a crock pot chicken soup for the fireside and made Ryan run it up to the church. Apparently A LOT of kids from our Ward got the flu this weekend so we're wondering if it came from the Ward Christmas Dinner from Friday night. Hmmmmmmmmmm? We were just getting over nasty colds from the week before (which Matthew, unfortunately is still suffering severly from:(

There's nothing worse than having the flu, except being pregnant and feeling that way 24/7 for many months! But we're all feeling better now and we'll let the kids go back to school tomorrow (Tues) since they've been feeling great all day today while I recouped. I seem to have had it the worst. I just hope Ryan and baby Matthew don't get it next......knock on wood. Ryan was such a trooper taking care of us all and getting up with Matthew to feed him in the middle of the night.

This all happened towards the end of two very stressful weeks for Ryan having had concerts last Saturday in Wakefield, Sunday at Walnut Hill School in Natick, then St. Malachy this Saturday and Ward Choir Christmas program on Sunday during the flu attack.

We need a VACATION! Sorry, I don't think you want pics of flu event:) and I forgot the camera for Ryan's concerts. But they all went GREAT!

Hilarious Pop Singing Parody at it's BEST (worst)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a few pictures from Thanksgiving and our short list of what we're thankful for....

We're so thankful for little Matthew's safe arrival!

Here he is in his bib that Grandma Pearson sent us that says "Baby's First Thanksgiving"!

I couldn't get any smiles but he's such a good boy with a very sweet disposition and we are so very lucky to have him in our family.

The Monday before Thanksgiving he weighed in at 11 lbs. 3 oz. and is 22 3/8 inches long (he's almost doubled his weight in 2 months!) This kind of growth has never happened to my other kids so it's kind of weird:) He's growing sooo fast and changing so much!

He really likes to "coo" more and gives smiles that melt your heart:)

We're so thankful for family, friends, and the Gospel!

Here we are gathered around the Thanksgiving table with Grandma and Grandpa Murphy and 2 Elders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had such a wonderful day visiting, eating yummy food, singing, and expressing our gratitude for the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that's been restored here upon the earth.

How lucky we are to know that God loves us and cares enough for us to send his only begotten son to show us how to live, to Atone for our sins, and to give us the wonderful Plan of Salvation so that we may return to live with our Father in Heaven as an eternal family.

We're so thankful for a wonderful DADDY!

He played a ton with the kids over the break! He's such a wonderful person who always thinks of others, works hard, is giving of his time and talents, and loves his family!

We're thankful for our children!

We're sooooo blessed to have wonderful kids who are kind, thoughtful, and caring towards others.

We're so thankful for sleep!

Here's a rare photo of grandma sleeping while holding little slumbering Matthew! (please don't hate me but I thought this was a sweet picture!)

Grandma Murphy worked so hard to put together a GREAT thanksgiving meal and to take care of all of us over the holiday week.

Mommy got lots of sleep over the break since everyone let me sleep in every morning and took care of Matthew!

Thanks Grandma!!!

We're so thankful for Grandparents.

Here's Grandma Murphy snuggling me and giving lots of loves on my first Thanksgiving.

We have such wonderful grandparents!

HAPPY (BELATED) THANKSGIVING!

Matthew turns 2 Months!

It's so fun to smile!
Posing in his new big boy outfit!
We go to the doctor's on Monday to see how much he's grown and to get his yucky immunizations:(
He's such a great boy! We're so lucky and blessed!

Introducing...... Matthew Ryan Murphy!

Proud parents, Ryan and Jen holding baby who? We couldn't decide on the name. Finally we decided later the next week on Sept. 22 that his name would be Matthew Ryan. See the next post for details on the name and birth experience. Sorry this blog is messed up. I'm still figuring it all out. Hope you like all of the pictures!

Yeah! What a team! Here's mommy, Matthew, Dr. Hardiman and the wonderful nurse that helped me the whole time. She was a crack up. I wish I could remember her name.

Thanks ladies!

Mommy and Matthew......he finally lets out a big howler to get his lungs going. What a glorious sound when you know they're breathing! This was truly one of the only big screams he let out! He's a pretty content little guy. Phew! Mommy made it through the delivery.

Smiles all around:)

Where am I? What's going on? Who are you strange people? Where's the party?

"What a very lucky boy!" exclaimed Dr. Hardiman. When Matthew was born he came out with the cord showing a big, but loose knot! Wow! Another miracle in this birth story:) Thank you! Our prayers were answered in so many ways!!!!!!!!

Drum roll............he weighs in at a whopping 6 lbs. 3.6 oz. and measured 19 inches long. What a peanut! We thought he'd be at least 7 lbs. or more but hey, we'll take it! Easier for mommy:)

Matthew's first bath at the hospital! Thanks for politely covering my bottom:)

Proud sisters HAILEY and MEGAN holding their new baby brother, MATTHEW RYAN during their visit to the hospital.

Matthew Ryan Murphy.... arrives safe and sound!

Here's daddy kickin' it with Jen as he patiently waits and keeps the ice chips and water handy! Boy, what hard work:) Read that magazine and take it easy.........I luckily got him out of rehearsals and piano lessons so he was pretty stoked:) Oh, I keep forgetting to do the pictures in reverse order. Sorry, a picture of Matthew at home safe and sound is below:) I'll try again.

Ughhh! Here I am posing in my HOT outfit at the hospital the morning of Wed. Sept 17th. I was feeling pretty good! My water apparently ruptured the night before but I wasn't sure since it was draining slowly and in spurt. I thought that maybe I had lost utter control of my bladder or something. I didn't know a slow leak could happen, but I guess it can if the sack breaks up high enough. So I went to my doctor that morning and said I wasn't sure what was happening but something definitely strange was. Sure enough they confirmed that it was amniotic fluid that I was leaking and my doctor asked me why I didn't call her the night before?! Well, I wanted to sleep and didn't realize what was happening:) Sorry!

So they rushed me upstairs to Labor and Delivery (since my doctor's office is in the hospital...convenient, aye) and started the IV's. I had been dialated the week before to 4cm and about 70% effaced. I knew I was a walking, ticking baby time bomb! I wasn't feeling any contractions but they said I was having some pretty good ones. Around 4 pm they gave me my Epidural and started me on Petosin (sp?) to help speed up and regulate the contractions. It finally kicked in around 7:30 as they began to get stronger.

Around 9pm the doctor asked if I was feeling any pressure and I said "no" then quickly changed my mind as I suddenly felt a lot of pressure. The doctor checked my and said.....He's COMING NOW! So within 3 more contractions I pushed him out quickly and with a little tearing. Sorry if this is toooo much info! But he arrived safe and sound:)

Here he is...........Matthew Ryan Murphy!!!!!!! Born on Septmember 17th, 2008 at 9:18 pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 3.4 oz. and 19 inches long. He looks like a mix between Hailey and Megan, I think. He has some really blonde hair on the sides and slightly light brownish-goldish hair. His eyebrows and eyelashes are blonde-ish white! We're not sure about the eye color. Hailey thinks/hopes they'll be brown, but I think they might be hazel or blue. We'll see:)

He is such a sweet boy! He doesn't cry very much (of course, when he's hungry). We named him Matthew because in Hebrew it means "gift of God" (which he truly is after all of our worry about his health and my puky pregnancy) and because it sounds sweet, yet strong and nice with Murphy as well as fitting well with the rest of our names. His middle name is Ryan after his daddy's first name. We feel sooooooo BLESSED to have him in our family. It feels so right!

Hailey and Megan ready for School!

They're so cute as they pose on our front steps. Ahhhh, the excitement of a fresh school year! I can't believe they're both in school together! Kindergarten and Second Grade.

My how the time seems to fly by. It seems like yesterday that Hailey and Megan were born. It's crazy to think that when we moved to Boston that Hailey was just 19 months old and Megan wasn't born until that next May. Now they're "big girls" and taking on the world of education:) I hope the year goes well and that they make some really good friends. You always hope that they'll be nice to everyone and that everyone will be nice to them and that they feel loved and satisfied with life.

Megan's First Day of Kindergarten!

Here's the proud and excited Kindergartner with her butterfly backpack on and ready for her first day of school!

Here's Megan, Hailey and Daddy "running/walking" to school for Megan's first day of Kindergarten on Sept. 4th and Hailey's second day of Second Grade. We were running a little behind schedule, of course! I'm waddling my pregnant self slowly behind. It was a gorgeous day and nice to walk the 8 or so blocks to the school. My body didn't quite agree by the time I got home but it was worth it and fun to see them so excited:)

Here's the sign on the wall that greeted the students as they entered the classroom. Mrs. Ryder is a fun teacher who does some really fun chants and songs with movement so the kids can get their wiggles out, like "Banana Split" (It's hot in here, I said it's hot in here. There must be bananas in the atmosphere. Peel to the left, peel to the right. Peel down the middle and ("Ummm" munch sound) take a bite. Go, go, go-go bananas. Go, go, go-go bananas. )and "The Volcano Blows" but I can't remember it- I think it goes "I don't know ch-ch. I don't know ch-ch. I don't know when the volcano blows. (exploding sound and jumps up)." The other day they sang "She'll be comin rund the mountain" and "The Ants go Marching". My kind of teacher:)

Whoops! Sorry this is backwards! But here's a last minute picture of Megan sitting in her classroom awaiting a name tag from her teacher, Mrs. Ryder. She's sitting next to one of her best friends "Peach" (aka. Christina). This is just half of the class from last names A-N for the first slow start introduction to school. The other half of the children went the next day and then they all came together the following Monday. They all look a little shell shocked:)

Here's Megan on her way to line up for the first day of Kindergarten. Oh, sorry, the sun was shining in her eyes:) It's fun to see the mass of parents and children as they get ready to say goodbye for a few hours and to see the mixed emotions of the little ones.

Hailey's First Day of Second Grade!

So, I'm trying to catch up on all of the things that have happened in September, like the beginning of school, etc. Sorry for the delay but I wanted to share these cute pictures of these momentous events!

Look how cute Hailey is in her first day of school outfit! It took her a long time to pick out just the right look that she wanted. Hailey's first day of Second Grade is mixed with excitement and nervousness.....will she like her teacher, what will her class be like, who will I sit by, who will play with me, etc. She was a little reluctant to go but at the end of the day she said she had a great time and was so excited about her new teacher, Mrs. Messing. Phew!

See you later! I'm going to school now! :)

Cape Cod....AHHHHH!

This is Hailey's "Cape" design in the sand....can you read it? We were soooooo lucky to get a last minute invitation to spend the week on the Cape. A surprise gift to get away and celebrate our 12th Anniversary!

The Murphy clan posing outside of the Cape Cod "Cottage" in Falmouth, MA. An awesome friend owns this amazing place on the Cape and called us up on Tues. the 19th and said it was suddenly available until that Friday for us to enjoy if we wanted to. SURE! We quickly packed our bags and headed for some fun in the sun! The house was AMAZING and decorated to the T inside, only 3 houses away from the beatiful beach, and the weather was spectacular! We were in HEAVEN! The water was over 70 degrees which is unusual for Mass. and the sand was so white and pretty. We caught some baby jellyfish, boogey boarded, found seashells, and dug in the sand. What a perfect last hurrah before school starts! THANK YOU Nancy!

Cute daddy catching a break from playing with the kids in the water!

Beach babes ready for fun in the sun! Aren't they adorable!

Megan proudly displays her lovely shell. There were so many around on the beach!

Hailey and Daddy trying to boogey board on the small surf:)

Hailey and Megan buried in the sand! They had so much fun burying each other in this beautiful white sand so we got a picture of them both buried. We tried to draw mermaid tails but you can't really tell. They were so cute!


Mama Jen catches some rays and rubs the belly........ahhhhhhh! How many more weeks? It's the final count down! Now if it wasn't so uncomfortable to sleep.................

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDY, DADDY!!!!!!

Hailey and daddy posing with his presents from Hailey. Hailey and mommy made a "daddy" keychain out of Beadkins. Hailey picked out all of the bead colors and we put our heads together to figure out how to make a boy shape. (He thinks it looks like Elvis:) Hailey made a birthday card and decorated it with buttons. She was so excited to have him open his presents....she couldn't wait until after we sang "Happy Birthday" and cut the cake! She helped her little sister Megan with the creation of her presents and gave the OK when the decorations were just right:)

Megan drew a picture of her and daddy on his birthday card and she made a picture frame displaying a picture of them swimming together. She was sooo proud!

Ryan, blowing out all 5 of his birthday candles......well, we didn't want to start a fire! :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Ryan turned 37 yesterday on August 17th. The girls were soooo excited. We made a birthday cake, decorated our apartment with streamers and birthday banners and then surprised him when he got home from playing the organ at St. Malachys. Here's daddy and Megan making funny faces for the camera (Hailey took this picture).

Life is Good!

Hailey and cousin, Emery showing off their "tatoos" for the Life is Good Festival where we saw SteveSongs perform.

SteveSongs at Boston Common

We love SteveSongs ....he's now so popular he's on PBS doing a 10 sec. cameo at 8:57 or something every morning. Go Steve! We knew him when.......;)

Cousins cooling off in Frog Pond!