Monday, August 27

Gone Viral

My Quiet Book has gone viral on Pinterest! I was really hoping people would love it and that others would get some good use out of it, but I never expected this. I have gotten over 10,000 page views on the quiet book post alone... craziness.

If you are joining us from Pinterest, please stick around! I have lots more where that came from, and I'll be posting all my freebies very shortly.

Wednesday, August 22

Introducing Cambridge Colette


Oh my goodness! What a day yesterday was. We are so delighted that baby Cambridge arrived safely
and that we are already home and enjoying her sweet little spirit in our family. She is just perfect.

Here is how she got here:

After feeling itchy on and off since Friday evening, I knew the Cholestasis from my last pregnancy was
 back. It can be quite dangerous for baby so Monday afternoon we heard from my doc that he wanted us 
in bright and early (5:00 am!) Tuesday morning for an induction.

They got me started on Pitocin around 6 am. After 5 hours of regular contractions that were 2 minutes
apart and quite painful, and almost no progression I requested my epidural. Little did I know that baby
girl was less than an hour from making her debut! To make a very short story even shorter, the epidural
only caught up at the very end of my labor- basically for the 3 contractions I pushed through and the
delivery. I went from a 3 to delivered in less than an hour, and felt all but 5 minutes of it!

I have never experienced pain like that. Lance was an incredible support to me and I could not have
 done it without him. He was by my side and saying absolutely everything I needed to hear the entire
time. I can't imagine what a mess I would have been without him by my side and I feel incredibly lucky
 to have such a wonderful man as my husband and father to my children.

Even though it was difficult, the labor was incredibly empowering! It felt good to do something really
hard and know that you can handle so much more than you think you can. And baby girl is just a little
piece of heaven- I can't imagine a better way to have gotten her here!

She was 6 lbs, 13 oz. and 19.5 inches
Almost exactly the same size as Crew.

 Crew was so sweet with her and kept kissing her forehead. 

We had lots of visitors at the hospital- all of our closest family came to see baby 
girl and to share in our excitement in welcoming her to the family.

Grandma Mary gave Cambridge her very first bath.

Time to go home!


Great Grandma Pat came to visit us at home tonight and baby Cambridge snuggled
with her for 2 straight hours. She is grandma's 14th great grandbaby.

We are at home now just relaxing and getting in the swing of things with two children.

Thank you for all the kind wishes and sweet gifts from friends and family!
We feel so blessed to have baby Cambridge and her sweet little personality in our lives.

Friday, August 17

Magnetic Quiet Book

I have had so many of you comment on the quiet book saying how excited you
are to print it off for your kiddos! I'm happy to know it will get some good use.

You can print the free boyish quiet book by clicking the link below. To download 
the free girlie quiet book, click here to "like" my facebook and unlock the freebies.

For now, here is the Free Printable Quiet book and instructions on how I put mine 
together. Enjoy!

Boy Quiet Book:

Girl Quiet Book:


It has been an even bigger hit than I thought it would be with Crew! Besides being very 
quiet in church, I've noticed that it's been excellent for his visual recognition, matching, 
and hand-eye coordination. He can't get enough of it.

Here's how to put yours together:
  1. Download the boy PDF here
  2. Download the girl PDF here
  3. Print two copies of everything
  4. Cut out the duplicates
  5. Get everything laminated
  6. Attach magnets
  7. Use on fridge or magnetic board, & enjoy! 
(You can find a source list at the end of this post)


 My cute little Crew guy showing you how it's done :)
 I tried making some of them harder or easier than others. This one is slightly more 
advanced because he has to pay close attention to the details on the owls.
Can you tell how much he loves them?


Sources
Printing- I printed mine here on 65# Cover Laser white card stock.
Lamination- I paid $6 at Alphabet Station in Orem.
Magnets- I bought a roll of magnetic strips from JoAnns for about $5
                     or you can purchase 200 self adhesive magnets here.
Magnetic Board- $10 from here.


Crew loves this so much that I'll be making more pages before long and I'll of course share them on here when I do! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Want more freebies?! Click below.


Monday, August 13

Dear baby girl

I remember so clearly the day, 9 months ago, when I found out I was pregnant with you. I got pregnant with your big brother right away and was expecting the same thing with you. I just knew you were already growing in my tummy! So I wasn't really all that surprised when I saw the little "+" sign on the pregnancy test.

I fixed a normal dinner that night and when your daddy got home from work, I asked him to set the table for me. He pulled out the cups and silverware, then got a really perplexed look on his face when he noticed one of the plates had a large #2 drawn on it. It only took eye contact for him to realize what that number 2 represented...it was you! We sat and cried together, so excited to have you on the way to our family and a bit stunned that you had come so quickly. We spent the whole evening talking about how our lives were going to change and how wonderful it was going to be to be a family of four!

The next 5 months were some of the hardest months of my life. I spent a lot of time in front of the toilet and laying in bed, more weak and miserable than I'd like to ever remember. It's hard to explain the darkness and discouragement of those months, and even just thinking about it I get sick to my stomach. Your Grandma Mary and Grandma Liz took turns with your big brother Crew because I was too sick to watch after him. There were so many angels in our lives that came to help when we needed help the very most. You are already so loved, baby girl!

When I started feeling a little better, I immediately began making preparations for you. I was so excited to shop for my own little girl. It wasn't long before Daddy and I had the nursery ready, all of your clothes hung in the closet and brand new, beautiful quilts ready to wrap you in (from your Grandma Mary, of course).

And now here we are, just days from you arriving. Your big brother Crew talks about you all the time and is so excited to rock you and give you kisses. He is going to be such a good big brother to you, and I hope that you two are the best of friends. Your Daddy loves to feel you kick and talk to you. He is going to melt for you when you're here and you'll have him wrapped around your little finger.

I can hardly wait to hold you, sweet baby of mine. To rock you, and sing you lullabies and nurse you. I hope to have a very special and close relationship with you; the same relationship I have with my mommy, your Grandma Mary. I hope we will be best of friends and that you will always know how much I love you.

For now, we are just waiting patiently for your arrival. We'll see you soon, baby girl!

Sunday, August 5

Lots of fun & 37 weeks!

We have had a very eventful week!

Saturday- Hiking up Little Cottonwood Canyon with the Walkers (Bruce and Kirstin were in town).
Sunday- Dinner with the Walkers, then a trip to Cascade Springs
Monday- OB appointment
Tuesday- Wicked at the Capital Theatre
Wednesday- Ward swimming party at the Scera
Thursday- At home with Crew and Colton (the little one I watch 1 day a week).
Friday- Swimming in the morning with my dear friends Skyler and Shannon and our kids, then boating and camping at Deer Creek with the whole Merrell clan.
Saturday- Boating at Deer Creek again (thanks Jake & Melissa)! Then dinner to PF Changs with my boys to celebrate 37 weeks!
Today- Birthday party for my oldest brother, Jake, who turned 30

It's been so wonderful spending lots of time with family and doing all kinds of adventurous things. It feels like the perfect way to spend our last few weeks before baby girl comes. I can hardly believe we are so close to seeing her. If I am induced early (it's still a little in the air) we have only 2 short weeks before we get to hold her in our arms!


Besides a short bought with a sinus infection, I am feeling fantastic. I'm sleeping great at night and have more energy than I have the entire pregnancy. I've noticed a little swelling in my face and I officially can't wear my wedding ring anymore. But no sign of the Cholestasis I had last time which I am SO grateful for. I also felt a definite "lightening" on Thursday which is when the baby drops lower into your pelvis, preparing for birth.

Lance has been very supportive and has been taking extra good care of me. He is so excited for the baby and is always amazed at her kicking and moving.

Crew is getting extremely aware of babies everywhere we go. He said to me the other day, "Mommy, my tummy hurts. The baby in my tummy hurts." I think I am most excited to watch him hold her for the first time.

For now we are enjoying our last couple of weeks as a family of 3 and are excited to soon be a family of 4!

Thursday, August 2

skinny


Oh, to be skinny again!