Isn't dinner time always when babies are fussy and just want your attention? Well, luckily Nyah is a happy little baby and rarely cries... but there are those times when she just wants to be cuddled and it's always in the evening. About a week ago I was trying to make dinner one-handed as I held my little lovebug and I was just so distracted because every time I looked down I saw her sweet little face peering up at me, happy as a clam to be held. It was so adorable, I had to pause and take a picture:

She was so alert and quiet that I had to take her out of her blankie and take a few more pictures! What a sweet girl. How am I supposed to get anything done with such a cute distraction around?!

meeting grandma and grandpa

Eric's parents and little sister Caitlynn got to fly out and meet Nyah... and spoil Gabe rotten, like usual! :) I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of them with Gabe - but he certainly got his normal quota of tons of attention!! It was so fun to show off our little sweetheart to them too. She was a little angel and captured all their hearts by the end of the weekend. (Who am I kidding, she had them wrapped around her little finger in 2 seconds flat!!) It was so fun to have them come and spend time just being together. It is so fulfilling and comforting to witness how much my little ones are loved. Gabe and Nyah are absolutely doted on, and I love that as a parent! Sometimes I imagine how difficult it would be to have no family... to know that there was no one else that cherished your children the way you did. What a blessing it is to have so many people in our lives that love us and that we love in return! It is what life is all about... family.

in love

It has been only a little over 2 weeks with Nyah and I am head over heels in love. She is the sweetest little darling. I absolutely love having a newborn in our home. She adds so much softness and love to our family, I am savoring every moment with her. It's wonderful to see her influence in our lives, even Gabe is naturally tender and sweet with her. There are so many endearing things about her right now... sweet little things I never want to forget... I love her noisy little "talk". She is full of squeaks and creaks, groans and grunts. It makes me laugh all day! Gabe and I have dubbed her our mouse in the house.

I love her oh-so-soft skin. She has a beautiful, porcelain complexion that is silky to the touch. I could (and do) stroke her cheeks and her soft, downy head all day!

I love her silly expressions which can range from a grimace of disgust to a goofy smile all in about 3 seconds - usually accompanied with a lot of stretching and groaning!

I love the tiny little rolls of fat on her legs. She is not a chubby baby but those little rolls are just adorable... I'll be so sad when they disappear.

I love her tendency to go practically comatose for about 2 minutes after nursing! She will break off and throw her milk-smeared face back and then just stay that way, limp as a noodle, until she finally rouses herself a few minutes later. It is the cutest, most endearing thing.

I love her wide, wide eyes... so wide sometimes that there is a ring of white around her deep blue iris. It gives her this adorable look of shock!

I love those moments when time stands still as she looks directly into my eyes while I talk softly to her. Nothing wavers about her expression - just a slow blink now and then. We are the only two people in the world... it is amazing.

I love her soft, sweet smell. There is nothing like it.

I love her little personality. She is sweet but spunky- easily comforted but lets you know, in no uncertain terms, when she needs your comfort! She is incredibly alert and interactive, even at her tender age.

Although it has only been a short time with her here, I feel like I really know her. But then I believe we did know each other before... that we were very close and loved each other dearly. I am thrilled to have been sent her sweet spirit to our family. I feel like we have been so blessed with our darling Gabe already and now we have our precious Nyah. Life can't get better than this.

(Her signature wide-eyed look of shock! What a doll.)

big brother

a big brother gives lots of soft, gentle kisses...
a big brother takes care of his baby sister- even if it means interrupting his dinner to run upstairs and "go make sure baby Nyah is ok" when a little cry is heard on the monitor.

a big brother is interested in even the mundane details of baby life - like inspecting each poopy diaper and exclaiming that her poop is indeed yellow!a big brother finds joy in all the new and exciting paraphernalia that comes with a baby sister...
a big brother loves to hold his little sister - and when he is done, will kindly ask me if I want a turn!
a big brother loves his new baby... Gabe is the best big brother!

HAPPY EASTER!

It was our first real holiday alone... strange and a little lonely but we made it fun! We had our friends Raelynn and Brett over for dinner (made possible by Mom's delicious food in the freezer!) which helped make it feel special for us all. Gabe was super excited to have the Easter Bunny come and leave him a basket of surprises! When he woke up Saturday morning, he got to search for all the eggs he dyed with Grandma, then find his Easter basket... I got all the excitement on video! Holidays just get better and better as he gets older! Gabe was THRILLED with the giant bug that the Easter Bunny left for him in his basket. He caught me saying "ewww, gross!!" once and from then on has been informing me that his bug is "not gross, Mommy!!" :)

Nyah slept through it all but I had to include her in the photos!

I had to include this last picture... as you can see, Gabe is thoroughly enjoying the little farm animals he got in his basket! :)

2 weeks already?!!

Has it really been two weeks since Nyah was born?! Wow!! I can't believe she has been here that long... but then other moments I can't imagine life before her anymore! She is such a delightful baby... just like Gabe was. Only this time I find myself enjoying the "moment" much more. I had such a hard time when Gabe was a newborn - I remember feeling so stressed and tired all the time. I can hardly remember anything of his first month - it is all a haze now, which makes me really sad. I'm so happy that this time around I can truly enjoy my baby. I'm not sure what is different, but I feel so much more relaxed. I'm sleeping better, I'm not stressed out about how much she is nursing and sleeping and a million other little things that I obsessed about with poor Gabe!! Of course I remember adoring my little boy - just like I do with my little girl - nothing is different there! But I'm just happy to report that all is well - better than expected actually! Life is wonderful at our house... short nights, poopy diapers, and (the occasional) toddler tantrum and all! :)

I love the comparison photos so here are my two cute babies. (I see a resemblance but they are not that close in appearance to me. What do you think?)

Nyah at 2 weeks

Gabe at 10 days

there's no one like Mom

I have been spoiled and pampered for almost a week... Mom came to help me with the baby! I didn't wash a dish, do laundry, clean, cook or pretty much do anything the entire time - it was fabulous! :) Gabe had the time of his life with Grandma... they read stacks of books, played all kinds of games, went on walks, and played trains by the hour. What a lucky little guy. And what a lucky mommy that got to take naps and relax with his new little sis! But the real reason I was so happy was that I got to just be around my wonderful mom. She has this knack of making me feel like the most important person in the world. I have missed her so much since we have moved away. This is the first time she has been able to come visit and I can't tell you how excited I have been! It has been heaven to have her presence in the house. There really is no one in the world like Mom!! I can't wait to some day share the same kind of relationship with Nyah. (Gotta love that face on Gabe!! haha!)

Mom brought so many presents for us! She made Nyah 4 of the cutest little blanket sets that she crocheted the edges of (which I was SO excited about since those are what I use for swaddling and I only had 1 for Nyah that I had made. I was worried I was going to have to use Gabe's little blue blankets - gasp!) She also made a darling quilt for Nyah! It is so warm and soft - we have been loving it for the middle of the night feedings! Then there were the clothes... oh my goodness, the clothes!! Can I just say that between my mom (and sisters!) and Eric's mom, Nyah is going to be the best dressed baby girl you can imagine! And I have been having a great time admiring all those adorable outfits! :)
Gabe got a great hair cut from Grandma - thanks mom!! What a handsome boy!Mom and Nyah did a lot of cuddling... It made me so happy that my mom could share with me this special time with Nyah and Gabe. That is probably the hardest part of living far away from family - knowing that we are missing so much of each others' lives, especially when it comes to little ones.
Making cookies with Grandma - what a blast! Gabe also helped make countless other goodies like rolls, muffins and cinnamon rolls - most of which are in the freezer for a rainy day. (Uh yeah, I have broken into the stash already but it has been awfully rainy here!!) He had so much fun with his Grandma!On the morning that Mom had to leave, we dyed our Easter eggs. Well, actually Mom and Gabe did... Nyah and I cuddled and took pictures of their hard work! It was so fun. I just love the holidays and the traditions that come with each one!
I'll admit that it was a struggle for me to watch my mom leave for home... but I'm so happy for the time we got to spend together. Thanks for coming Mom! I love you!!

going home sweet home

Nyah is now 5 days old...I'm a little behind! We got to take her home on Wed evening when she was only 24 hours old (they kick you out of the hospital fast here in Washington!) I had her all dolled up for the drive home - she looked adorable! The nurses all gathered around before we left to see how cute she was. They kept saying how it was pretty obvious I was excited to have a little girl!! Here is our little baby doll, ready for the 15 minute ride home! :)

When we got home, Gabe got to hold his little sister! What a handsome big brother he is! (He is sporting a shiner from falling on a train and shirtless due to a very dirty shirt... our little man is all boy, that's for sure!!)

Snuggle time with mama before bed... I just cannot resist that soft little bundle! I would hold her all day if I could.

Our sweetheart is here!

NYAH LEIGH was born on Tues, March 23rd @ 3:31 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. I thought I would start off by posting some hospital pictures and writing up her birth story. What an amazing experience! There is absolutely nothing in the world as spiritual and awe-inspiring as welcoming your child into the world. I loved (almost) every moment... haha! :) Even through the pain and discomfort, I cherish each memory. I better get it all written down before the those memories of details start to fade - I want to remember every little thing! Here is our precious daughter...

Nyah's Birth Story
I realize now that I am completely clueless when it comes to knowing if it's "true" labor or not... For those of you that don't know, I waited way too long to get to the hospital with Gabe. By the time I realized that the labor was for real, my water had broken at home and I was in the middle of one minute apart contractions that felt like something I can never describe. It was an excruciating drive to the hospital, let me tell you! This time around we (especially Eric) were a little nervous of getting to that point before being tucked into a hospital bed with a nice epidural on board! So after several days of more regular contractions, that were starting to become more painful, we decided to head into the hospital.
4am Tuesday morning the contractions woke me up. My first urge was to get in the shower to relax and hopefully feel better. However, that is exactly what I did with Gabe and it ended up being the real thing. (So although it had worked that time - it made the contractions much easier and slower (hence why I was fooled into thinking them false) - I definitely should have gone to the hospital at that point.) That is why, when Eric heard my shower/relax plan, he vetoed it immediately and shuffled me and my packed hospital bag out the door! Luckily we have a wonderful friend here, Raelynn, that was prepared to come over in the middle of the night to be with Gabe. She took him home with her and he spent a grand old time with his buddy Ethan over the next 24+ hours!
5am Once at the hospital, I found out I was only dilated to 2-3 centimeters! How disappointing and not a little embarrassing. However, I was definitely in labor, albeit pretty early labor, so they admitted me and started antibiotics. (I'm GBS+) Over the next 6 hours I very slowly progressed to a 4... whoopee. :)
10am My Dr dropped by and decided to break my water to get things going a little faster, now that I had 2 doses of antibiotics. (I was between 3-4 cm dilated at this point.) Bad news: meconium in the amniotic fluid. I was so disappointed and worried. Knowing too much is a curse when it comes to these kinds of situations. I immediately started envisioning worst case scenarios of meconium aspiration - of ventilators and weeks in the NICU. But the baby looked perfect on the monitoring so everyone was pretty certain she had not pooped out of stress. Once I talked myself down from the unlikely hood of it becoming a nightmare meconium aspiration, I still was worried about her needing a resuscitation and being taken away from me and put in the NICU... deja vu, ick. At the very least, she would not be able to be placed directly on me after birth - an experience I had been looking forward to since I was deprived of pretty much all contact with Gabe for days after his birth. At the same time, I was so thankful to be in a hospital that had a NICU and a team of Drs/nurses that knew what they were doing and who would be there at delivery. Just knowing that we had all kinds of medical expertise available to us was a big comfort.
11am Time for an epidural! Labor was now entering a whole new level beyond "uncomfortable". Not too bad yet but let's just say I wanted it to stay that way! Once the epidural was working, I was so mad at myself for not doing it earlier. I felt a million times better. They say it doesn't make you tired but to me it feels like I have suddenly not slept in 2 weeks! Maybe it's the sudden disappearance of pain that makes you feel the exhaustion, I don't know. All I know was that I was so happy to just float away!
2:40pm Another check reveals the discouraging news that I am still only at 6 centimeters... after being in the hospital 10 hours! Eric and I were wondering if our baby would ever come! However, very soon afterward I started having what felt like a massive charlie horse with each contraction in my lower left back - it was awful! By 3pm it was getting so bad that we decided to have the anesthesiologist come in to bolus my epidural since I was only a 6 and wasn't going anywhere soon... or so we thought.
3:10pm The muscle spasm feeling has now spread across my left abdomen in what the doctor called a hot spot (a spot where the epidural is not working). We are just waiting for the bolus to start taking effect and I'll be honest... I am starting to lose my calm and happy facade! I'm in such intense pain that the nurses are a little alarmed and want to check me again, even though it's only been about 30 minutes.
3:15pm I am completely dilated and effaced and the baby has dropped so low that the nurses are running to call my doctor in! Eric and I are in shock... and a little giddy with excitement! (I have to add here that Eric's face was a moment I want to remember... when he heard them say the baby was coming right now he looked like he was either about to throw up or pass out! He leaned over and confided to me that he wasn't sure he was ready for this! He makes me laugh - and for some reason I thought his stress was kinda sweet!) Five minutes earlier we were preparing for hours more of waiting and now... our little girl is ready to meet us! I can't help crying even as I write this... what an emotional roller coaster childbirth is! My Dr got there extremely fast and I was pushing within moments of her arrival.
3:31pm Beautiful Nyah is born! Despite some minor shoulder dystocia, it took only about 4 pushes and there she was! I was crying and laughing, just like with Gabe's birth! She didn't cry very much but she was breathing and doing pretty well. They wrapped her up and let me see her for a minute then whisked her away to the NICU where they wanted to check her O2 sats on the monitor to make sure she was ok. My first glimpse of her face was wonderful - she was beautiful and here and healthy and a girl for sure! :) I couldn't have been any happier.

Nyah only had to stay in the NICU for about 15 minutes before they released her with a clean bill of health! What an answer to prayer. Eric brought our little bundle back to me and I got to hold her and really drink her in. There aren't words to describe the wonder and joy that filled me as I just looked at her. She is a miracle. She is healthy and whole, despite a million and one things that could have gone wrong during pregnancy and delivery. She is just gorgeous, despite the bruised face and broken blood vessels in one eye (from dropping so fast in the birth canal, I'm told.) She couldn't be any softer, sweeter, or more lovable. My heart is full to bursting with love for her and my family. There is no experience in life more spiritual than this. Holding a sweet, new spirit straight from our Heavenly Father. I'm going to love her every moment of our lives together and beyond. I'm going to teach her all the things she needs to know that will bring her happiness and success in life... that she is a daughter of God that loves her even more than I do and wants her to be happy more than anything, and that by following His teachings she will find the ultimate joy in life. What an awesome responsibility parenthood is... but I'm so excited to embark on the adventure another time! We love you all and thank you for your support! It's wonderful to be able to share these precious moments with the people that we care about the most!

sneak peek

I have finally finished the nursery!! And not a minute too soon... I think I may be in labor right now! Either way, I'm scheduled to go in to the Dr. tomorrow at noon and she wants to induce me if I am progressing at all (which I know I am). So hopefully, if all goes well, we should have our little darling here by tomorrow night! I had to post some pictures of her room beforehand since I have been promising my mom and sisters for weeks to get them up! So here is the grand tour of Nyah's room... it's pretty darn cute, if I say so myself! :) It turned out perfect for me!

View walking into the room:

Turn right:Turn left: Turn around (behind you):

Of course it will be even cuter when all those picture frames have actual pictures in them! I made the hanging tissue flower balls (thank you martha stewart!) - I think they turned out great. What do you think, Erin? (She was my inspiration!) I wish you could all come over and see it in person, it's just not the same in pictures. Oh well, let me know what you think anyway!