Newborn Photos

I had such beautiful newborn shots taken of Grace.  It was by far my smoothest newborn photo shoot ever.  Meghan came to my house and let me keep Grace all swaddled so it just went so smoothly.  Grace just slept the entire time and I thought the images turned out just beautiful.  Meghan did such a great job and I feel like these precious pictures are just priceless.

 I felt weird having so many pictures taken of me but I do love the way they turned out.

 This is one of my favorites.  I do love smelling that sweet baby head.

I love this picture so much of the girls.  Little do you know that Julia and Audrey were literally punching each other at one point over who got to hold the baby.  "Please don't punch each other while we are taking pictures or while you are holding the baby!"  Thankfully the photographer didn't catch that moment.  Stinkers.

 Those sweet cheeks get kissed a whole lot.

Wax Museum and Other Things

The timing of the wax museum wasn't ideal but unfortunately I do not have control over when the 3rd grade wax museum is to be held.  Juia chose to do Georgia O'Keefe.  Thankfully, grandma saved the day and brought us this great apron and art tools for her costume.  Julia had to memorize a speech that I helped her write and we also made a canvas picture and put it on an easel that nana brought to us.  I did try and get as much of it done as I could before I had Grace but it was still crazy.  The actual night of the wax museum was even crazier but we made it happen.  We just left someone home with the baby and traded shifts.  Nana and Papa drove up to help and Papa was particularly great to stay with her the entire time.  It meant the world to her.  

Julia did such a fantastic job.  She is such a bright little girl and presented her speech perfectly each time.  She was really nervous but didn't show it at all.  

 The parents would walk around and put money in her jar and she would have to give her speech.  She said she had to do it "hundreds of times" throughout the night.  She totally nailed it though.  I was really proud of her for doing so well especially while things were a little crazy at home.

 My days are mostly spent with these two.

 The big sisters are a huge help with the baby.  They are able to do so much to make my life a little easier.

 I absolutely love this picture of Bryan with his little girls.  He is the perfect dad for girls and they are so lucky to have him.

 Lily is my entertainment during the day.  She is such a good girl.  I don't know if I've ever had such an independent little player.  She is off playing barbies or princesses all day.  She requires very little from me.  This has been a tremendous blessing.

 This baby is such a sweetheart.  I absolutely love newborns and am trying so hard to soak up every fleeting moment I get with her.  It just goes too fast.

 These snuggles are my favorite.

 Oh that face.  It just doesn't get any sweeter.

First Week Home

I really do love those first moments at home with a fresh new baby.  It's crazy and unbelievably exhausting but these fresh from heaven babies bring a special feeling into the home.  Unfortunately Bryan got food poisoning during all of this and was pretty much laid out for a few days.  I was so glad to have my mom there to help.  The most overwhelming part of having Grace was getting the other girls to school and doing homework on top of trying to keep a baby alive and recover from giving birth.  When you have other kids at home there is no "recovery."  I felt like the hardest part of it all was the after birth contractions.  Those were pretty painful.  Otherwise I tried really hard to let myself enjoy each moment and to get as much rest as I could.  That's when having help was invaluable.

 We gave her a bath and she did not think that was very fun.  Lots of wailing.

 Seriously it was so nice of my mom to stay with me for a few days.  The girls all had their little adjustments to our new life changing event and my mom handled them all beautifully.  She took and picked up the girls from school and fixed dinner.  Bryan didn't get to take much of a break and the break he had he spent sick so having her around was something I was very grateful for.

 Lily of course wasn't going to be left out.  Lily absolutely loves the baby.  Her big adjustment was her hair.  That makes no sense whatsoever but after I had Grace, Lily was very concerned about how I fixed her hair.  She would only allow me to do a braid in the back and I would have to take a picture to give her photographic evidence that her hair was fixed the way she wanted.  She also was really worried about her clothes and if they were cute enough.  It was rough getting anywhere for a few weeks.  She has since improved and I have a list of about five hairstyles I am allowed to do.

 Overall the sisters have done really well adjusting to Grace.  They love her very much and wish I would let them hold her more than I do.

 Isn't she the sweetest?

 I love this picture because she is all curled up just like she was when she was inside me.  I feel like they only do that for about a week and then their little limbs start stretching out more.

She's Here!

Our sweet little Grace Catherine arrived February 27, 2015 at around 4:30PM at 8lb 2oz.  It was my easiest delivery yet.  I was in labor for a while but the actual delivery was a breeze.  I arrived at 7:00AM and was put on pitocin.  My doctor started it slow because he was at a meeting.  It was funny because Bryan just sat with me and I could have watched television or looked on my phone but I just sat.  It was like the quiet was so enjoyable or I wanted to enjoy the moment.  It was so pleasant to just lay there and talk to Bryan and the sweet nurses that were in and out.  I got my epidural after a few hours and it was perfect.  Not too heavy and not too light.  It was slow progress until I was dilated to about a 6 and then it went really fast.  One push and out she came.  I have decided that Bryan has done so many deliveries that I like to have him just be the husband when my babies are born.  Our doctor is a great friend and colleague of Bryan's and did a wonderful job.  It was such a great experience and I was so glad to have her here safe and sound and to have it all go as smoothly as it did.  I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience from beginning to end.  The hospital was great, the labor/delivery was painless and I got to enjoy this beautiful new little girl.  I can distinctly remember every single delivery experience with each of my girls.  It is such a spiritual experience and I am so grateful Heavenly Father has entrusted me with these special little girls.

 We had a really difficult time coming up with a name this go round.  After three girls it was hard to find another girl name that felt right.  We finally agreed on Grace Catherine.  We just liked the name Grace and Catherine is my maternal grandmother's name.  My grandma was an incredible woman and I love the tie I feel to her by having this baby carry her name.

 Grace looks a lot like my other babies with lots of hair.

 Every time they would take her for shots, etc they would bring her back with an adorable bow or headband.  I thought they were so cute.  The hospital was so nice because I just snuggled that baby and had zero interruptions.  There is something about that new baby, her beautiful smell and the way she folds up just the way she was folded inside of me.

 She would give a few moments of awake time.

 This picture is dark but oh she looked so cute with that pink bow.

I have to get more pictures off of Bryan's camera.  He took a lot more of her when she was first born. I am just trying my hardest to get this blog all updated!