Aaron * Launa * Emma * Olivia & Abigail *

On the 11th when Abigail was 1 day old a professional photographer came to the Hospital and took pictures of her. We think the pictures turned out absolutely beautiful...

Precious!

I absolutely LOVE this picture:

I love this black & white photo:

and here it is in color:

Wide awake:

Her cute little feet:

Such a healthy beautiful baby...we love her so much and we are so thankful to have her in our lives!

Our newest family member...

Our little Abigail Marie arrived via scheduled c-section on Wednesday the 10th. My c-section was scheduled for noon but my doctor got tied up at another Hospital, so we had to wait even longer.

Waiting for my c-section:

Finally at 1:58pm our little Abigail Marie was born.

Abigail weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 18.5 inches:

Her first bath:

All clean:

Daddy and Mommy with Abigail shortly after birth:

Olivia and Emma meeting Abigail for the 1st time---

Emma was surprised at how little Abigail is:

Olivia and Emma love their little sister:

and Emma holding Abigail:

Proud Daddy:

Happy Mommy:

Up close picture of Abigail's hair:

and some more pictures of Abigail:

We are so happy Abigail is finally here. Welcome to the family little Abigail---we all love you sooooo much!

So, I am a few days away from my scheduled c-section and I am having mixed emotions about it. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to meet our newest family member, Abigail. However, Aaron and I are undecided on wether or not we are going to have any more kids after Abigail. The thought that this might be my last pregnancy makes me sad---and happy at the same time.

~ Sad that I may never feel another baby kick or move inside my belly. Sad over not having the excitement of an upcoming arrival of a new family member. Sad that I may never have another pregnant belly. Sad because I am going to miss having another life growing inside of me. I love being pregnant and I love having children.

~ Happy because our family may be complete. Happy that I won't need to worry about the stress of a pregnancy and all the worries that accompany it. Happy to get my body back in shape and back to normal and lose all the extra pregnancy weight. Happy to get back into a new routine as a family of 5.

I keep thinking "Is this the last time I will get to cuddle a baby of my own?"...etc. Being "done" is the end of an era, in a sense, and for most people there is some grieving that goes along with that. I will likely be feeling some of that as this pregnancy comes to an end, although my grieving will be lessened significantly if we finally realize our family is complete and we can move onto the next stage of our lives---our kids beginning school.

I am very grateful for my girls, and I am trying to stay positive---but part of me wonders what it will be like once we are truly done. I feel like a chapter of my life could be closing if we are for sure "done."

So, with that said I am trying to live in the moment with this pregnancy and to savor every moment because I don't know if it is my last...

Well, I turned 30 two days ago and I feel great about it---honestly. I was a little sad at first but then realized I was saying goodbye to a decade that so many wonderful things happened to me.

~ Graduated College
~ Got my first REAL job
~ Got engaged
~ Planned a wedding
~ Got married and fell even more in love
~ Went on an amazing honeymoon
~ Traveled to New York with Aaron
~ Several other vacations together including California and Florida
~ Bought our first animals together---our dogs Titus and Cheyenne
~ Bought our house
~ Got pregnant
~ Felt love I never knew existed until my babies were born
~ Became a Stay-At-Home-Mom
~ Gave birth to Emma
~ Gave birth to Olivia
~ Got pregnant with Abigail (although I will be 30 when she is born)
~ I became an Aunt for the 1st time
~ Celebrated 9 years of wedded bliss

Now, look at all the things I have to look forward to in my 30's:
~ Celebrating 10+ years of wedded bliss
~ Having more babies (IF we decide to)
~ Spending every day for the next 10 years married to my best friend
~ Having more nieces and nephews---hopefully!
~ Watching our girls grow into amazing young ladies
~ Making new friends while keeping the old ones too
~ Watching our girls go from preschool and up to Middle School

With a list like that who could possibly be sad about growing older? I am definitely not! I am so excited to see what this next decade will bring! I think my 30's are going to be awesome.....

Not long until Baby Abigail arrives.....

Everyone is so excited. We have been trying to get everything in order at our house for baby Abigail's arrival. Her clothes and bottles have been washed and put away and we have a pack or two of newborn diapers already waiting for her. Her bassinet is already in our room. The only thing we need to do now is install the car seat base in my car which won't take long. I also may want to tour the hospital where Abigail will be born---although it isn't necessary. We are so excited to meet our new family member!

~ Always having 1 more load of laundry to do.

~ Going to bed and waking up earlier than you want to.

~ And since the kids woke you up earlier than planned on a Saturday morning---you put Sesame Street on the television so you can lay on the couch next to them and get that extra hour of rest.

~ Having the medically impossibility to kiss a scraped elbow and make it stop hurting.

~That I have to be ok with housework NOT getting done because sometimes they just want me to sit with them and watch a movie.

~ Being a mom means removing enormous snot globs from nostrils, or clumps of sticky food from multiple places on the body, or cleaning up poop that miraculously shoots out of a diaper and up your baby's back (NO, this is not a picture of my baby---but I need to show you what I am talking about).

~It's inevitable that someone will puke on your face and you will fish floating poop out of the bath tub at some point.

~ Hoarding stacks of unread books in your closet and under your bedside table, and knowing that it will be a cold day in heck before you'll be able to read them all, because you're too busy reading Where The Wild Things Are for the 343rd time, and you don't mind one bit.

~ Being a mom means realizing you’ve gone four months without dying your hair…and deciding it can wait a little longer

~ Sleeping on the edge of your King size bed because your bed is full.

~Being a mom means mourning your pre-pregnancy body – but never giving up hope that you can get it back. (Gotta work on this in a few more weeks).

~ Caring much more about keeping yourself healthy and out of potentially mortal situations because the thought of your children not having you there makes you feel sick to your stomach.

~ And being a Mom means wearing your heart outside your body in the form of your child, and coming to the realization that when your child smiles, laughs, cries, or endures pain, then so in fact, do you. Realizing that you love them and value their lives more than your own.

Being a Mom means many things...and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Motherhood means the world to me. I love my girls and I am so grateful for them and being able to be home with them full time. Even on those frustrating days there is still nothing else I'd rather be doing. The days are long, but the years seem so short. They grow up so fast!

It has been awhile since I have blogged so I guess I should catch up...
We decided to take a quick family vacation to California. On Thursday May 19th when Aaron got off work he came home and picked all of us up and we drove to St.George. We spent the night in St. George and the next morning we drove to Anaheim California. We decided to stay at the Quality Suites hotel because it had a full kitchen so we could prepare some of our own meals if we wanted to. It was just like an apartment. It had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms all in the same unit---it was really nice.

The very first day we went to Disneyland we got to see Mickey Mouse and Pluto. Olivia LOVES Mickey and the gang---however, she was scared to take pictures with them up close.

The 2nd day we went to SeaWorld:

The Dolphin Show:

The Polar Bear Exhibit:

The Shamu Show:

The Seamore and Clyde show:

Emma with Aaron:

Olivia with Aaron:

The Girls love popcorn:

The 3rd day we went back to Disneyland we were able to see Cinderella and Minnie Mouse:

Emma (little Tinker Bell pirate)

Walking down Disneyland Main Street with my 2 girls:

Emma dancing on Main Street in Disneyland in her cute Tinker Bell costume:

Lil' Olivia in her cute Cinderella costume:

Emma on the far left---riding a roller coaster with Aaron. I obviously took the picture too soon...oops!

A pretty picture that Aaron took of the castle:

On our 4th day we were going to take the girls to the beach---but it was really cold at the beach so instead we decided to drive back to St.George and stay the night there since it was so warm there. When we arrived in St. George it was quite late. We took the girls to dinner at the Pizza Factory. After we ate we went back to the hotel and Aaron and I took the girls to the pool for about a 1/2 hour and then went back to our hotel room and went to bed.

Then on Wednesday the 25th we drove home. It was a great vacation. The girls were exhausted when we got back to Utah so I think we spent the perfect amount of time in California. Not too long and not too short of a vacation---just perfect!