Aurora's One Year Appointment

Ignore the fact that the picture is in the wrong direction. :D

We had Aurora's one year appointment and she is doing really well! The doctor loved that she has three words and two signs to communicate and said her growth looks great (even though her head is giant (and always has been)).

Also, everyone we've seen has commented on the cut on her nose: the top half was from wrestling with her sisters, the bottom half was from the next day and falling while wearing a mask.

Aurora - 9 Months

Happy nine month birthday, little one!

You're such a little cruiser! You constantly go up the stairs and around the house. You still don't really like crawling on your knees--instead, you use your feet so you kind of look like a spider when you're getting around.

You love your mama and dada sounds. You use them to call us but still don't always distinguish between the two of us when you say those words. But MAN do you light up when we come to you!

Your favorite activity right now is making messes. You crawl up to bookshelves or media shelves and empty them in seconds. You crawl up to toy boxes and bins and tip them over to spill the contents. You love the noise it makes and you love everything all around you on the floor.

You still just have the bottom two teeth and you love biting everything. You pull our hands into your mouth just so you can bite us! Silly girl.

Bath time has suddenly become a favorite. You love playing with your sisters in the bathtub and you're a pro at splashing!

You love eating. We feed you nearly two jars of food at dinner alone and in addition to that, you eat regular food from our meals! You're a champ at feeding yourself from your hands. Cereal, potatoes, peas, peanut butter sandwiches, etc.!

Two Months - Aurora

Happy two months, Aurora!

You've done a lot of growing this past month! We had a WIC appointment last week and you were 11 lbs 3 ounces. You're starting to get out of your newborn sleep phase and you're staying awake for longer amounts of time. I love watching you watch your sisters. Your eyes and head follow them almost as quickly as they move (which is fast and often!). Your smiles melt hearts. I am so excited to see how much you learn this upcoming month!

One Month - Aurora

Happy birthday, Aurora!

I can't believe you've already been with us a month--time has flown! You are such a good little girl. You eat like a champ (truly--you chug!). You sleep beautifully (usually only waking once in the middle of the night--you've been doing that since the hospital). You generally cry for two reasons: your diaper is dirty or you're hungry. You also started to smile at us last week. Not often, but when you're particularly excited, you'll flash us a beautiful smile. Unlike your sisters, you have no dimples whatsoever! We love having you with us. Adelaide is beside herself with how much she loves you and can't help but try to pick you up or give you your pacifier or tell me that you're happy and looking at her.

And, despite what this picture looks like, you are such a happy, happy baby. We love you!

Baby Pictures

Introducing Aurora Celeste, our new little angel 

 

We Bought A House!

Back at the end of March I felt like we should start looking at houses in the area. Clark and I didn't know why we should start so early (our lease is through August) but we met some great realtors, looked at about 50 houses over a month's period (UGH) and ended up falling in love with a multi-level house in Chubbuck that is still in our stake boundaries and in a neighborhood close to the friends we've made in town. It's much larger than we were planning (technically 5 bed/3 bath although I would say it's 4 bed/3 bath/3 family rooms) but it has lots of space and storage and a yard that will look great once it's been watered regularly (it was a bank-owned home). Below are some shots of our first dinner in the house (McDonald's--huzzah!) and a few of the rooms. :D

  

The kitchen/dining room and a glimpse of the patio

 

 The master bathroom (newly remodeled counter and floor), the downstairs family room, the master walk-in closet.

The front exterior. You can *just* see Clark being a dork in (what will be) the girls' room window.

Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday was definitely our "Utah Errand Day." We had about 400 miles left on our car warranty, so we needed to take it in to the dealership that morning to make sure some maintenance got taken care of. In addition, the girls have been participating in a program called "Help Me Grow" which encourages play and monitors development stages. They were having an event at UVU with some fun activities and a few freebies, so instead of making the girls wait at the dealership for an hour or two, I took them to the event while Clark took the car in. They had some really fun stations set up (ball pit, building block corner, puppet show stage, etc.) and even had cotton candy, popcorn, and an hourly animal show going on. The girls did all right for a while but the car appointment ended up taking forever and after being confined to the same room for two and a half hours, the girls were DONE. :)

 Afterward, Michelle had an open house BBQ at her home to have an excuse for some of us to come over and see her place (she's lived there for ten months, lol). It was GREAT to see the old roomies and visit with Caryn, too. We all stayed way too long, but it really is fantastic to get together with these ladies and doesn't happen as often as we'd like it to.

Azucena's Birthday Zoo Adventure

Last year when we activated our zoo pass, we made sure that we'd be able to use it right up to Azucena's birthday this year (she was free until the day before her third birthday). Conveniently enough, Brady's graduation was the same weekend as her birthday, so we would already be down in Utah and knew we could take her to celebrate. The awkward part of planning was that for two years the zoo had promised a safari in 2014. Then it became early 2014. Which became spring of 2014. Which turned into May of 2014. Which ended up being MAY 30TH. Clark and I were seriously having a heart attack about whether or not Azucena would actually get to see lions and zebras and ostriches like she wanted to.

Anyway, I know almost none of these pictures have smiles, but the girls actually LOVED being there. They stayed in the splash pad for about 20 minutes because they were having so much fun. Azucena kept climbing onto statues and asking for her picture to be taken. She got her last ride on the carousel (man that punch pass was a worthy investment!). We also were able to ride the train that had just re-opened. The girls didn't like the crazy noise (the brakes were super squeaky or something) but they liked riding it and seeing the animals a little closer.

Happy birthday, Azucena! We're glad we could celebrate your birthday at the zoo!

 

The Birth (in pictures)

Here are a few pictures to elaborate on Adelaide's birth story:

Week 39 (November 29)

Just after getting checked into the hospital (can you tell that I haven't slept well the last two nights?)

  

Adelaide, just minutes after being born. Can you see her dimple? She has another one on the other side. :D

 

The three Earley girls                 I love the signs they make in the hospital!

Here's my daughter. You can definitely tell she and Azucena are related. She has Azucena's nose, but her hair is MUCH darker (ethnic hair, for my old roommates that read this), and her cheeks are a different shape (plus she has those dimples!). I'm pretty sure her eyes will go dark, too, because they're a darker baby-grey than Azucena's were. I love the little things I'm learning about Adelaide and the fact that she has a different personality from Azucena already.

Thanks for indulging in my photo dump!

Adelaide's Birth Story

Our second daughter was born today. We love her so very much!

The medium-ish lengthed story:

I started having contractions Saturday night just before 11 p.m. (Why? Because my body hates sleep.)
They were about 8 minutes apart and lasted until about 8 in the morning

Then they quit. Sort of. I'd have two, up to four, contractions every hour throughout the rest of Sunday. This meant we went to church so I could have choir practice and so we could attend and participate in Sacrament meeting.

Afterward, we headed to Riverton so we could be closer to the hospital and so Azucena could be with her grandparents already should Clark and I need to hustle to get checked in.

But the contractions remained irregular.

We said good night a little after 8, packed up, and headed home for the night so Clark could rest up for work. We hit a really awesome rainstorm (that made us use back roads since the highway was freakin' scary) and started to settle in about nine in the evening.

Since Clark and I had spent most of Saturday night awake/packing the hospital bags that we'd been neglecting, we were pretty tired and were both very grateful that Azucena fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep when we got home. We discussed our options of when it would be good to go to the hospital. I reminded Clark that we had an appointment with my OB/GYN scheduled for the next morning, in about twelve hours. We agreed to do nothing until then. We went to bed and began to sleep.

Then the contractions got pretty icky.

Around one in the morning, I started to wake up every five minutes or so to painful contractions. Really, really painful. They weren't strong enough to take my breath away, but I couldn't move for a good 30 seconds each time they happened.

At 4:30, I gave up and woke Clark up, asking if it would be all right to drive down to the hospital to get their opinion on my condition instead of trying to hold out another five hours for my doctor appointment. Clark was a sweetheart and immediately sat up, got dressed, and packed stuff in the car.

We arrived at the hospital a little after 5:30 and were admitted to a triage room within 15 minutes. Just before 6, the nurse checked my progression, declared me dilated to a 6, with a bag about ready to burst, and told me we'd be having a baby very soon.

Immediately, the cell phone satellite over Utah got really busy. :D

Azucena left the hospital with her grandparents while we got put into a labor and delivery room. 

The nurses were sweet and helpful and one in particular made sure that she put us on the anesthesiologist's list so that we wouldn't have to wait too long for the epidural (there were several c-sections this morning). I'm just going to take a second here to plug for modern medicine: I am SO grateful that I could have that extra medicine to help me handle the last few hours of my pregnancy and the delivery of my baby girl. I have a decent tolerance for pain, but having had contractions for the past 30 hours and about 5 - 6 hours of sleep total the past two nights, I don't think I'd've had the strength to go natural. I'm not saying everyone should do it, but I am saying that I am happy it was an option for me.

8:00 - still a 6+ so my doctor asked that the on-call doctor break my bag. Done.
9:10 - 8 cm
10:15 - 10 cm, called the doctor to come in for the delivery
just past 10:25 - started pushing. During the first contraction, Adelaide lowered. During the second, she crowned. During the third, she came.

10:42 is her official time of birth.

We love her.

You can tell she's Azucena's sister.

She has lovely black hair.

She has the most gorgeous dimples in both cheeks. (The first thing the attending baby nurse said was, "does your other daughter have dimples? Because this one has dimples.")

She's wonderful and beautiful and precious.

We love her.

I can't wait to share a few pictures with you!

Pregnancy Update (the end is near!)

Some pregnancy shots from the last couple of weeks:

37 weeks (November 15)

38 weeks (November 22 - AFTER Thanksgiving dinner!)

I've been having weekly doctor appointments and I finally let him check to see if I was dilated the day before Thanksgiving (since I've been having some intense pressure/stress down there but no contractions). I was dilated to a 1 1/2 and, surprise, surprise, didn't have the baby. But I'm not expecting her for a little while yet, so no big.

Also, I just realized that I look really good in those black maternity dress pants. I should wear those more in the next week and a half . . .

Pregnancy Update

Here are a couple more pregnancy shots. As you can see, I'm getting pretty darn round! It's definitely much more difficult to get around. Also, to drive (which wasn't really an issue last time, but I also drove a different car). 

I had a doctor appointment this morning and somehow gained six pounds in the last two and a half weeks (really? HOW?! I haven't changed my diet or my activity level!) but the doctor blamed it on Halloween, which was nice of him. Anyway, we're definitely having a kid sooner rather than later and I can't wait to meet my new baby girl!

November 1 (35 weeks)

November 8 (36 weeks)

Pregnancy Update

Well, kids, it's another pregnancy update. Here are a couple pictures of my belly. The weird thing is, between the two, it looks like the baby has dropped. So I guess she's settling? Because there's no way she's dropped-dropped. 

The best news that I have to share is that I do NOT have gestational diabetes. That took about a week to figure out, though, and involved a lot of drama, four doctor visits, and two bruised arms. But I don't have it. Thank freakin' heavens. Also, we've reached the two week appointment point of life. :)

September 9 (27 weeks, 3 days)

September 22 (29 weeks, 2 days)

Why, yes, my hair did have ridiculous amounts of volume this day. Why do you ask?

October 2nd (30 weeks, 5 days)

Speaking of the two week appointment intervals, I actually have another one later today, so hopefully I'll grab a picture and be able to say that everything is still looking good.

edit: I gained six pounds in two weeks. Oops! (Must have been all that Peruvian and Mexican food my parents "forced" on me this weekend. Hee hee!)

October 10th (31 weeks, 6 days)

16 Months Old

 I love how much you're doing now! You try to say what we're saying (like "turtle" and "giraffe") and you've started to say the words you're signing (like "more {mo}" and "please {peeze!}." You're even clever enough that you can pull DVDs off the shelf, open the case, and pull out the disc.
You still love being outside. You try to sneak over to the playground all the time. You love walking in the rocks and grass. At night, you like finding the moon and you think the stars are pretty.
You signed your first "sentence." (10/9) You said "please milk" which was just so stinkin' adorable and I almost freaked out.
You know the chicken says "buk buk" and the rabbit goes "hop hop" (and you move your hand in a hopping motion).
Your top front teeth STILL haven't broken through the gums but they're starting to hurt you again so I'm crossing my fingers they show up in the next couple of days.

Pregnancy pics

For those of you wondering how this pregnancy is going, the answer is better and harder than last time. :D (And I'm officially 26 weeks today!)

The pros: I was nowhere near as sick during the first trimester, I still have the energy to chase a toddler daily, I can eat just about whatever I want. 

The cons: I have to chase a toddler around and my "nesting instinct" combined with the fact that there is a cockroach infestation in our new apartment makes it so I am cleaning a LOT every day. I mean, I clean a fixture in the bathroom at least every day, plus I scrub our kitchen floor, wash dishes (whether or not they've been eaten off of) by hand every day, etc. It's kind of crazy. I'm really, really hoping the roaches go away soon so I can relax before I get huge. 

Speaking of huge, here are some pictures!

August 12th (23 1/2 weeks):

 

(I'm sticking my tummy out in this one)

August 27th (25 1/2 weeks)

Thursday

Things that need to get done today:

1. Shower
2. Azucena's nap
3. Eat about 6 more meals
4. Go grocery shopping
5. Choir practice
6. Make dinner

Things I'd like to get done today:

1. Shower
2. Take a nap
3. Eat about 6 more meals
4. Go scrapbook shopping
5. Choir practice
6. Deliver thank you notes
7. Go to a carillon concert

Things that will probably actually get done today:

1. Eat about 6 more meals

::sigh::


EDIT:


Things that got done today:

1. Shower! Woo!
2. Azucena's nap
3. MY nap!
4. Choir practice
5. Ate a few more meals
6. Thank you notes
7. Grocery shopping
8. Dinner

Water Park (June 14)

Since Azucena turned one year old and because I really wanted to get out of the house, I decided to take her to the water park in southern Provo. This year, she was completely free! However, she was also a LOT more aware of her surroundings which lead to this:

(hanging onto my swim skirt for dear life) and this:

(escaping to the grass which was away from the water park).

However, after an hour or so, she finally felt confident enough to hang out at the edge of the pool and splash (see the beginnings of a smile?) . . .

 

    Well, mostly. :D