Doctor

Grace had her first doctor's appointment today. She slept through most of it and let me talk with our wonderful new pediatrician. Grace weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz., only 1 oz shy of her birth weight. Most doctors give a full 2 weeks to get back to the baby's birth weight so Grace is doing great. She also is 1/4" longer than when she was born and her head is .5" bigger around. She is in the 50th% for weight and 75th% for height. So she may be skinny, but she will definitely be tall! :) The doctor said that Grace was looking great and that she was the cutest baby! She loved all of Grace's hair! She gets compliments from everyone, even total strangers. She is such a sweet baby and no one can help but love her!

Mother's Day

Today was Mother's day. Kayla and our family sat by each other so that we could all celebrate together. It was such a hard day for all of us but so wonderful that we could be together. We had to buy an outfit specifically for this day because Grace was too small for everything else. But she looks adorable.

Baby Girl's Birth

It's 2:50 am. We got a call from Grandma Kiki that Kayla's water broke and they were heading to the hospital. Good thing Angee didn't turn my phone to silent. I went to bed that night knowing something would happen. Robby and Angee got up and got our bags ready and started driving. We get another call at 3:30 saying that Kayla's contractions were only 3 minutes apart. We were shocked. We started going faster. At 4 we get a call from Kelly saying that Kayla's contractions are closer together and they couldn't find the hospital! We gave them directions and they finally made it at 4:20. We showed up at 4:30 and Kayla was in a room getting checked. We waited in the waiting room until 6 when we found out her contractions were only 2 minutes apart and she was dilated to a 6. Kayla finally got the epidural and felt better. Kayla was checked again at 9 and was dilated to a 7.5 but was slowing down. So they gave Kayla some Pitocin to speed up the labor.

At 11, Kayla was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Angee was on Kayla's right side and Kelly was on Kayla's left. Angee helped coach Kayla through her contractions. At 11:35 Kayla felt the urge to push and started doing some preliminary pushes to get Baby Girl into the birth canal. The nurse told Kayla to stop pushing because the doctor was helping with a C-section and wasn't going to be there for at least 30 minutes. Kayla couldn't stop pushing though and Baby Girl kept coming closer to being born. The doctor finally came in at 12:05. 1.5 pushes later, at 12:07, Baby Girl's head came out.

She had this magnificent full head of hair! It was DARK brown and Baby Girl's face was a little blue. She had the umbilical cord around her neck 2 times (and I was terrified, but interesting fact, Robby had his around his neck twice and Angee's was around her neck 3 times). Kayla pushed the rest of baby girl out in one push at 12:08 pm and she was beautiful. Angee cut the cord, though it took her 2 cuts. It is SLIPPERY! Lol.

They laid baby Girl on Kayla's chest and it was so amazing. We couldn't believe that this little girl was finally here. We were so grateful to Kayla and the miracle she just had. All the boys (Robby, Kayla's step dad, and Austin) were invited in and were able to see the sweet little princess. She was weighed and was 6lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long. She had the sweetest little cry. We hugged and cried. Angee was able to give her the first sponge bath (which she hated) and her first shampoo (which she LOVED!). We then bundled her up and she was passed around to Angee, then Kelly, then Austin, then Robby. It was incredible how much love there was in that room. It was so amazing.

Around 9, everyone left except for Angee and Kayla and we were in charge of taking care of this little girl. It was really important for us that Kayla feel like she had the opportunity to love and care for Baby Girl during the hospital stay. Angee would get the bottles ready and then give her to Kayla to feed her.

We had talked about SO many names but could not decide on one. On the Sunday before she was born, Kayla called Angee and asked what she thought about Grace Michelle. She loved it! She was given to us only by the Grace of God and Michelle means Gift from God (and is also Angee's middle name). Angee asked Robby and he liked Grace too (mostly because our favorite little girl that we baby sit, her name is Grace). Kelly told us she always wanted to name one of her daughter's Grace growing up but ended up naming all her kids with K names so it didn't fit. :) We finally had a name so it was OK for Grace to show up.

Firsts

I should be writing about the miracle of her birth, since it was a miracle and so amazing, but instead, Baby Girl and I are watching her first Disney Movie. Sleeping Beauty. Fitting since she is both sleeping, and quite a beauty. She is such a precious miracle and we are so blessed. Blessed by this precious girl, blessed by a father who places this little girl above himself, and especially blessed by a loving mother who I can't adequately describe. My heart aches for her and I love her more than words could ever describe. And now, because my brain is mush, I will go to bed. I will post pictures and a story as soon as my brain can function semi properly. :)

Waiting

Dear Baby Girl,

We are waiting for your arrival and time can not seem to pass quickly enough. I cannot wait until the day I can see your beautiful face. I know you will be beautiful because your mom is so beautiful. She has had so much faith since you came into her life. She loves you with all her heart. She is one of my dearest friends. She is calm and patient while she waits for you. I, on the other hand, am impatient and anxious. I know you will come on your own time and it will be perfect, because that's what you are. I wonder what you will look like. Will you have your mom's brown hair, your dad's green eyes? Will you have your mom's laugh (because it's one of my favorite things about her), will you have your dad's smile? Will you have my carefree joy or Robby's love of learning? All I hope is that you know that we love you, your mom and dad love you, and your Heavenly Father loves you. I cannot wait to teach you and to watch you learn about the gospel. I love you Baby Girl!

Love,

Me