Happy

John took this picture of Avery and I today, and so far it is my favorite of the 2 of us. It makes me smile every time I pull it up and look at it. I made it my profile picture on facebook because I like it so much. Of course, the reason I probably like it so much is because I actually felt like a human being due to the fact that I managed to shower, do my hair and wear non maternity clothes! haha I also like the silly little look on her face. She was making silly faces in most of the ones he took, but this is the one that I look the best in. Sorry Avery! :)

Bathing Beauty

Today I gave Avery her first bath at home. I waited a few days because her skin was kinda peeling and the nurse said she only needed one maybe a couple times a week because more than that would dry out her skin.

As you can tell from the pictures, she thought she was in heaven from the moment I set her in there. Some babies might cry when they are having a bath, but not Avery. Not a peep from her the entire time she was in the tub. She was so happy and content to be in there. The only time she cried was when I took her out. Boy was she not happy then!

Happy 2nd Birthday Hayden!

I can't believe my baby boy is 2! Where has all the time gone? He is just getting cuter by the hour, and although it makes me sad that he's not a little baby anymore, I still just can't get enough of him. I just love him so much I just can't take it! The little boy I never thought I would have. Sometimes I think I love him a little too much, if that's possible. I just want to hug and kiss him and squeeze his guts every chance I get.

It was fun to get to have my parents here for his birthday, but I was enjoying Hayden so much I forgot to take any pictures of him with them like I had planned. Lame, I know. I had planned on taking a picture of him with John and I too, but having a new baby and NOT having had a shower very recently, I smartly opted to just let John be in the pics.

He had a ton of fun playing with everything he got and eating "CAKE!". It has to be all caps, with an exclamation point, because that's how he says it every single time. Hilarious! I'm glad he liked it, because once again I tried my lame hand at cake making. I don't know that I am getting any better, but the kids like it so I guess that's good enough for me.

The birthday cake. He was super excited because it had a car on it. :)

Hmmm, and which one should be first?

Hello? Is anyone there?

Way excited, because the puzzle makes sounds when you play with it.

"Helping" dad because he wasn't getting it together fast enough!

Playing with his cool new track that's almost as big as he is.

A firehouse and truck. Fire trucks are his favorite thing ever.

Cute dinosaur puzzle. Hayden calls them "Roar's". hehe

He sang to himself while he was getting sung to. He loves singing the birthday song.

Finally! CAKE!

Grandpa and Avery

I just thought this picture of my dad and Avery was so cute. I love my dad so much! I might not be a little kid anymore, but he is still my hero and I still look up to him just as much as ever. I am so happy that Avery will have a chance to have someone who is such a great person and an amazing example to me, as her grandpa.

Trying to eat Grandpa.

Looking adorable.

Meet The Grandparents

My parents came over today to meet Avery for the first time. They were so excited. I am a little worried now that they might think that they get to keep her. Ha! ;)

I love watching my parents with my kids. I don't know what it is, but something about watching my kids snuggle with and get loves from my parents just makes me infinitely happy. Maybe it's because my parents were/are so lovey with me that I know how happy I feel when it's me.

Visiting with Grandpa Steve.

Sleeping on Grandma Lisa while she was on the phone with her sister.

Snuggling on the couch with Grandma and Grandpa :)

What's In A Name?

So I just wanted to do a quick little post about Avery's name. I had decided on the middle name Joy as soon as I knew she was a girl. It's my mom's middle name, and I have always loved it and wanted part of her name to be after my mom since I am so close to her.

However, it took FOREVER to come up with her first name, and for a while I was worried that she was going to be born and we still wouldn't be able to come up with one. Well, on Sunday, Aug. 28, I was lying in bed sick and just thinking about what we were going to name her. John and I had gone over and over the list of names I had come up with, and while we liked several of them, none of them had stood out as "The One". You know, the name that you come across and there's that little "Aha" moment where you realize that's it. Well after thinking and looking at my list, I was feeling really discouraged so I finally decided I should pray about it (Duh!). I started telling my Heavenly Father how there were several names that I liked, but none of them felt like her name and I was worried I wasn't going to figure out what her name was supposed to be. Almost immediately, the thought came to me "Her name is Avery". I almost started crying because I felt such peace and relief that I finally knew what her name was. The funny thing was, when I was on the phone with my mom on the drive to the hospital Monday night, I told her we finally knew what we were going to name her. She asked me what, and I said Avery. My mom said "Avery! That's the name I was trying to remember when I talked to you the other day!" I said, well I guess she really was meant to be Avery. Funny how things work out. Now when I look at her, I can't imagine having named her anything else. While I really liked the other names on my list, she is most definitely Avery.

Avery Joy

On August 29th, my water broke around 5pm. After taking time to shower and get ready, John and I left for the hospital around 6pm. Luckily a friend from my ward was able to bring her kids and come and stay at my house with mine. When I got to the hospital, they gave me the option of walking to get my contractions going more, or to start Pitocin. Since I knew from 4 previous births that I was going to have to have the Pitocin at some point anyway, I decided to go ahead and start it right away. I didn't see any point in making myself more tired by walking for hours, when I hadn't slept the night before. After checking me to make sure my water was really broken, they admitted me and the pitocin was started around 8pm.

I had planned on trying to go natural, since I felt like I missed out when I couldn't with Hayden, but after about 3 hours I went for the epidural. I really missed having my bff Emily there with me, because I felt like if she'd been there I would have been able to make it, since I wasn't in labor very long. After getting the epidural, I was able to relax and get a little rest. Then, I turned onto my left side because the epidural was wearing off on that side, and just like when I had Amelia and Hayden, lying on my side did the trick. I went from about a 6 to complete in about 5 minutes or less. I was so happy to finally be able to get this baby here! One contraction later, Avery Joy joined our family on August 30th at 2:20am. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 5 oz., and was 19.5 inches long. She is so tiny and beautiful! I am so happy to finally have her here! Babies are WAY more fun on the outside, where you can kiss and snuggle them. (and they aren't kicking you in your ribs and giving your killer heartburn) The kids were so excited to come and see her, and I can already tell there is going to be lots of fighting over whose turn it is to have her. I told her to enjoy her time at the hospital, because once we went home she was never going to have a minute of peace again.

Welcome to the family Avery! We couldn't be more thrilled to have you here. :)

First picture with Mommy and Daddy

First bath (she LOVED every minute of it)

All bundled up in her hospital crib

Naked babies are the cutest thing on Earth

In her cow seat, all ready to go home