Who's the Boss?

SIX MONTHS!! It is so crazy to see how fast time flies by. I can't believe Britlee is already six months old. I feel like she was just born. Everyday sure is an adventure and I love it! I had all these plans though to take lots of pictures of her in different outfits and such, but since our camera got lost I don't think that will quite work out. We still have my old one, but it's not as good so maybe I will still try or borrow my brother's or something. I just want to document such a big milestone :) That and I want more pictures of my adorable daughter! But for now we will just document that she is six months and share all of her accomplishments thus far.

Britlee is now 14 1/2 pounds, which means she has more than doubled her weight! Which is fantastic. Though before she was always in the 80th percentile or close to it, she is now only in the 20th.

She now rolls EVERYWHERE! It is so fun to watch. I was telling Justin that she rolls all around the room and I guess he didn't quite believe me because we he put her down and he went into the kitchen and looked over she was already on the other side of the room he says "hurry come look, I just put her over there and now she is over here!!" But yes I got excited because he needs to experience those wonderful moments as well.

Britlee sure has her favorite toys and when you take one away she cries at you I swear she is telling us that it just isn't fair. Oh boy, it has started already! The funny thing is, is that her favorite toy seems to be the remote! HAHA it makes me laugh all the time. I know someday Justin will regret introducing that to her as a toy, but for now we all just laugh. I tell you I think she might have a personality like her father (wink wink), very independent but wanting everything her way. So really I think I may be making her sound like she is bossy and possibly starting to be bratty already, but that is not the case. She just has her moments of wanting what she wants--yes a typical girl and baby! And I love it.

Britlee LOVES books; she loves to read them and tell them. If she is ever sad I hand her a book and she quiets down and just starts turning those pages.

She loves to help me cook and clean. Many times she has to be in my arms while I do it, or right there with me. Maybe when she is older she really will help me? Is that wishful thinking? I'm sure it is, but for now I will tell myself she is going to LOVE it!! I will have an amazing helper :)

She is definitely trying to scoot but eventually gives up cause she isn't moving fast enough and rolls over and turns herself until she can get to where she wants to be. She is quite creative.

Well for now that's all I have got to share. There are many more but I won't bore you all with them. Six months has truly gone by way too fast and I am saddened but it but also so excited. Every day is a new adventure and I love it! She is an amazing little girl and I am so happy to be her mother!

Anybody have any Rootbeer?

Ok so seriously I started this post a couple of weeks ago and now just getting back to it. Hopefully I will finish it. There are so many things to blog about all the time but I have no time or don't take the time. But I need to be better, why you ask? Well because it is fun and I think some people might actually read it and if I don't update it than there is nothing new to read and than you are just bored. So I will try and be better.

Britlee has become very fascinated with water bottles lately. Anytime someone is holding one she wants it; whether it's plastic or not she wants it. I think mainly because I always have one so she thinks she needs one too. Maybe? :) Anyways... so a couple of weeks ago we went to the church for an institute class. They had rootbeer floats after for dessert (YUMMY!). We were one of the last ones there and so the couple wanted to give us their the left over soda. We initially said no because we don't really drink it, but than they asked us again so we said sure since we have Cory, Aaron, Stephanie, and Melanie come over all the time --for sure they could drink it. So I was holding Britlee and Justin had gotten the soda. Britlee kept reaching for it and wanted it. Justin came closer so she could touch it and she basically grabbed it out of his hands. And this was not a small bottle mind you, as you can see below in the picture. But she sure wanted to hold it. Silly girl. She thought it was so great. She was holding on to it and smiling and laughing. As we were walking home I look at her and she is trying to suck on it. Oh my we just laughed and laughed. We tried to get good pictures but we were laughing so much she would get distracted and have to laugh too. So the pictures don't quite do the situation justice, but close enough. I tell you that girl is just too funny!

see little kisses!

Boise

Yesterday ended our trip in Boise and we are now back at home in Beautiful Rexburg! We had a wonderful time :) I used to spend summers in Boise but that was so long ago I forgot most things so it was fun to go back and get a different perspective.

We stayed with a friend of mine from back home, Bridget, whom I have not seen since high school. Friday was filled with a campus tour of BSU, a question and answer seminar, meeting with the Business department, visiting my cousin Angie who I have not seen in more than 15 years, and of course we ended the night with a BSU game at Bridget's friends house filled with goodies and serious game cheering! Britlee and I enjoyed the game for awhile but than she was so tired so I wandered the house trying to get her to sleep. She would almost get there and than say oh wait there are people here who think I'm cute I can't sleep. (yes I really do think she thinks that, she is quite the entertainer) She finally fell asleep in the last five minutes.

Saturday was just as eventful with a trip to the Farmer's Market. We LOVE Farmers' Markets and we were extremely excited when we were finally able to go to the one here in Rexburg, but after walking through and seeing everything in 5 minutes we decided it was not worth the drive into town. So sad I know! So when we go other places and someone mentions one we have to check it out. When we were in Salt Lake a month or so ago we went to the one in Salt Lake and completely fell in love. Yes that sure is possible. (maybe not for everyone but for us it's so exciting. Small towns will do that to you I think) So when Bridget mentioned there being one in Boise we of course had to check it out. And yes we thought it was fantastic. So much to see and so many yummy things to try. It wasn't as big as Salt Lake but it still got us excited. There was this CUTE little boy, I say probably about 7 or 8, there selling his drawings. I tell you it was the cutest thing ever. Each drawing was 5 cents. We couldn't pass up the moment. Justin searched through the stack and found the perfect one and the boy even signed it for us. ADORABLE!! I think Justin gave him a quarter and the little boy wanted to give him change but Justin told him the rest was for him. He was pretty excited. What a great artist, starting so young. He was just sitting there with his glasses and cute little bow tie (yes of course I took pictures, BUT can't post them--well because there was a mishap that I will talk about later). After the Farmer's Market we headed over to our apartment tour. Yes, that's right, we are contemplating transferring to Boise State. So the rest of that afternoon was spent driving around viewing the city and apartment hunting. We saw some great ones. Some way out of our price range and some that seemed to make an impression. Others we wanted to view but offices were closed. So now if we decide to go we will just have to keep looking online and hope the one we pick makes us happy.

After a long afternoon of apartment hunting we went to check out the Capital Building, which was amazing. Took some pictures and than headed for the mall. Yes being in a big city we have to go to the mall. We wandered with amazement! You see our mall is not so big and could be eaten by this mall and still be hungry :) We grabbed a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and headed back to Bridget's for dinner. We enjoyed a delicious meal of ribs, potatoes, and salad with a dessert of popcorn and cheesecake!! So delightful. We then ended the night with a movie. Britlee was already asleep and I sure didn't take long to follow. I am not sure I saw much of the movie.

And than Sunday we enjoyed some visiting and left midmorning for the drive home. The trip was great, but happy to be home. Britlee had a blast, but I think she enjoyed sleeping in her own house. I could tell this morning she was happy to be back home because she gave me a "welcome home" diaper! Lol we always enjoy getting one of those after a trip.

I'm sure after these great stories you are wondering where the pictures are, well I tell you there are some! Of course there are :) I know I am bad at taking pictures and really need to get better, but this time I really took some. Some good ones too, BUT there has been a mishap. Quite a tragic one I might add. The camera has been lost, yes you read that right-LOST!! I know it is very depressing. I can't believe it either, tears are almost streaming down just talking about it. The camera contains ALL of our pictures of Britlee and no not all of them have been transfered to the computer yet. We took pictures at the Capital Building and than the next time I wanted to take a picture it could not be found. Somewhere between Capital Building and Mall it has been misplaced. When we were at the mall we figured it was just in the car, but NOPE! AHHH!!!! So now we have no idea. We are home with no camera and broken hearts. Hopefully by some chance Bridget will find it in her car miraculously. We are hoping for a miracle. If not that is what I am asking Santa for Christmas this year. Or maybe from the birthday fairy :)

But even with the tragic end the weekend was fun. Justin fell in love with Boise--I think mainly because it was a big city and he loves to be in big cities. I on the other hand loved it, but not sure I want to move. Big cities aren't really my thing anymore. And I'm comfortable here in Rexburg. So it will be fun trying to decide what to do. So stay tuned for what we decide!

A Daddy and his Daughter

I have always wondered whatit was that made a relationship between a daddy and his daughter so special. I mean I am close to my daddy and just love him and know he would do anything for me. He is very protective, more with me than with mybrothers. There is just no relationship like it. I know he loves all of us kids, but somehow I just feel the relationship is just a little bit different--maybe because I am so sweet! :) But I have noticed that is how it is between other girls and their dads and even mothers and sons. So what is it that makes this so? I can't quite figure it out, but I do know there is something special about it. I see it in my home EVERY DAY!! Justin and Britlee just adore each other.Britlee and I have so much fun together all day and can laugh and smile and sometimes I am the only one that can calm her down, but I tell you when Justin gets home she smiles SO big. There is nothing like it. I just love it! When she's tired and Justin picks her up, many times she will just lay her head on his shoulder and snuggle and within just a short time she falls asleep. So precious.

I must admit I do love watching them play. When Britlee is really sad and crying Justin talks to her and does everything he can to calm her down. Most of the time it works. Amazing!

We sure have lots of laughs because of those two. One being the way Justin dresses Britlee. I tease him all the time telling him he sure is lucky she doesn't know any better, but someday she will see pictures and wonder what on earth he was thinking when he picked out her outfits. We have had quite the unique color scheme. Pinks and peaches and reds. Yes that would be all in one outfit. I think that one is my favorite. For awhile he had this favorite outfit and kept picking it out for her even if it was gigantic. At first I would tell him J that is just too big, but when he kept getting it out every time I would ask him to get her an outfit I knew it would be better just to dress her in it. She was so cute it didn't matter, and it made him smile. Another time was when he put her shirt on backwards. I couldn't figure out why it looked so weird. It had a collar and was just really puffy or something. I finally figured out why it looked so funny. It was on BACKWARDS!! I laughed and than asked why he put the tag in front instead of in the back. He smiled and said OOPS with a big grin. He didn't even pay attention to the tag he just saw buttons and thought for sure they had to be the back. I really love that guy. Britlee doesn't usually notice any of these weird things her dad does, she just wears the outfits he picks with pride, as if nothing was off. What a good sport :)

I am so in love with these two! There is no cuter pair.

Time Sure Flies When You Are Having Fun

All week I have been planning on doing a post but somehow just let other things get in the way. Number one being playing with Britlee, seriously that is WAY more fun than blogging so she always wins, and always will.

I can't believe it, but seriously for more than 2 years now Justin and I have been married. Can you believe it? Yes seriously, two years. It is truly amazing how fast time flies. I told Justin the other day that sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that we got married and other days it feels like we have been married forever. The forever part not being rude or complaining about torture but rather just that life is so great with him that I can't remember what it was like without him. Yes ups and downs come but I would take them for all the great days and moments.

What a wonderful man I married. Yes yes this will probably be a sappy post!!

Justin is truly my best friend. It's hard that he works so much because I don't get to tell him every second of every days' happenings, but that is probably for the better. :) Justin and I of course have a very interesting story. Honestly I must admit he is probably one of the last people I ever thought I would marry, but what do I know. Obviously nothing, because it was the best choice I ever made. The poor guy puts up with all my weirdness and crazy ideas. When I'm grumpy he loves me just the same or more so that I will get past it, what a guy! He works his little butt off for us so that I can be at home with Britlee, not only that he does it with a smile. Man I sure do get to have all the fun. He is the most patient guy I know and is really the only person (well besides my mom) that knows how to calm me down in stressful situations. He is the best dad a girl could ask for. He has jumped to the opportunity to change Britlee's diapers since day one, even when they are SUPER poopy. So all around he is just the best guy EVER!! Of course there are so many more things I could list but I won't do that, the post would be endless characteristics of Justin. And the best thing about him, ok well two of the best things are: he makes me laugh everyday (which was number one on my list of must haves in order to marry someone), and the fact that he loves me!!

After all that I know what you are all thinking, you're thinking you wish you would have married him :) hehe But too bad for all you ladies, I got him and I'm not letting him go!

Living the Good Life

Britlee is now 3 months old! I can't believe how fast time flies. She is growing like crazy. She is now somewhere around 12 pounds :) She smiles all the time and talks a lot. She has started doing this thing where she gets really tired so she just keeps talking. I'm not sure if she is doing it to keep herself awake or if she is singing herself to sleep but it is so cute. I told Justin she is a lot like me in that she likes "pillow talk." When it's time for bed she just wants to talk and talk, tell us about her day I guess.

Britlee grabs everything around her and puts it straight to her mouth. She refuses to take a pacifier, which is great in that I won't have the battle in a couple years of trying to take it away, but she likes to suck on her hand instead. Which results in sometimes sucking her thumb, which isn't great at all. Very cute though (for now). She loves tummy time and laying on her back so she can just stretch and kick those legs and swing her arms. Our daily walks are her favorite past times I think. She usually gets so excited when I put her in her carseat and stroller. She usually falls asleep half-way through it, so that definitely means she likes it...right!?!

3 months old and definitely enjoying it

4th of July Weekend

OK I know I am WAY behind on my blogging if I am talking about something that happened weeks ago...
We had a FIRST trip with Britlee! We went to Utah and I must admit I was a little nervous not being sure how Britlee would do in the car. She normally is great in the car, but she has never had to be in it for more than 1 hour at a time, so going for a 4.5 hour drive is a bit different. She did very well! We stopped a couple of times for her to eat and even was able to stop in Centerville to see my great grandma for a short visit so Britlee could meet her Great Great Grandma and Justin could meet her as well. It's funny how we havebeen married for almost 2 years and there are lots of members of my extended family that haven't met him. O well, I am sure he will meet all of them with time.
Our trip was so fun. We sure had a blast with friends and family. Justin and I were able to go see some of the people we met on our missions. It has been a long time since I have seen people so it was nice, I just wish we would have had more time to visit more people...maybe next time.
So really this post is going to be mainly showing pictures and maybe some comments here and there. Oh yes one thing I must say-Britlee slept all night twice while we were on our trip. She hasn't since, but we tired her our enough on vacation that she did. Either that or the Holt's house is lucky! Now the trick is just getting her to do it again and to have me sleep as much as she does. My body is still trying to get used to her not waking up as much. There are many nights that I wake up a few times in between her getting up to eat because I need to check on her because it has been "too long."

Britlee with Grandma and her cousin Eliza.

They met for the first time

Britlee with Grandma and her cousin Clara!

Clara is one month younger exactly

We tried to get the cousins together. Some were not very happy.

We missed Ryder, he couldn't be there with us :(

Britlee is spending quality time with her Uncle Trent and cousin Eliza.

We can say she is cheering that Uncle Trent is snuggling with her,

but really she is stretching. lol Just don't tell anyone :)

Grandpa and Clara

Grandpa with Britlee and Eliza

The girls having tummy time together

Meeting her Great Great Grandma! Wahoo!

We just needed my daddy to have 4 generations! What a cute bunch :)

This is a day we went to visit people, can't you tell she loves it!

Isn't she just SO cute!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Sadly we did not get any pictures with the 3 girls together, but we will just wait until Christmas after Ryan and Karen's baby girl has arrived and can join in on the fun!!!

The weekend was long, but so fun. A much needed vacation for our family and especially Justin. We hadn't been anywhere together since last fall and Justin has just been doing non-stop work which is no fun. It was fun to be the three of us!! Britlee sure enjoyed it too. She loved getting lots of attention, though I think sometimes she was wondering if it was ever going to end.

Being a weird mom

So much has happened and yet at the same time it feels as though nothing has happened and I have no idea what to blog about. And right now I just can't think of anything but I really want to post pictures of my adorable baby girl.

So stinkin' cute!! I just want to pinch her cheeks. This blanket is one of our favorites. My Uncle Ron made it for Britlee!! such a great blanket and will keep her warm for forever. And she looks so cute with it.

Big Girls Don't Cry!

Ok seriously I believe I have the best daughter in the whole world. Yes I am bias, but I am sure you would all have to agree, she is such a good baby. She hardly ever cries, only when she is super tired and hungry. May 29th (last week) was Britlee's baby blessing. Since she doesn't sleep all the time anymore I was kind of nervous that she would cry through it all, so to help avoid this I left Sunday school class at church to feed her to make sure she wouldn't freak out in the middle of Sacrament Meeting because she was starving. As Sacrament Meeting started Britlee woke up and I thought oh boy this will be interesting. But in the meantime I kept teasing Justin because he was so nervous--he never gets nervous so I have to take advantage whenever I can.

The time for the blessing came and Britlee was WIDE awake and stayed awake the WHOLE time! Not one peep!! Apparently she just stared at everyone. Ok now you totally understand why I say I have the BEST daughter. Most babies if they are awake just cry and scream, but not mine! I was so proud :) And not only that but she was/is beautiful.

7 weeks old and Blessing Day! Britlee's Great Grandma's

Britlee in her cloth diaper Britlee just being super adorable

The last couple of weeks it seems as though the weather has been, lets say...very unenjoyable. It has been very wet and rainy. I really have not been enjoying it, Britlee and I just want to get out and play and go for walks. We have tried to be patient, but I must admit my patience was running thin. And than the best day ever came. Friday was sunny but a little chilly so we decided to stay indoors, well until probably around 7pm and we just couldn't handle it anymore. I wrapped my Moby Wrap around me and stuck Britlee inside and we went for a walk to drop some cookies off at our friends' house. Best decision we could have made. It was so nice to get out, we got to socialize, and we even got invited out to get a snow cone. Really no better thing could have happened. Even Justin got off work early so he got to go with us.

Saturday came and the weather was FANTASTIC! I fell in love with Rexburg all over again. I was starting to really wonder if I liked it here anymore, but yes, yes I do!! Justin got home from work and we finished preparing for our picnic and headed over to the park!! Britlee had her adorable sun hat on, which was so cute! We had friends that joined us and so did Uncle Cory and his roommates. The football was thrown around, mitts brought out to play catch, and lots of laughter was shared. I love summer!!!! I can't wait for more picnics and walks outside.

Yep, the cutest thing in the whole world

Holy Chunks!

Britlee sure has grown, and I mean really grown. We had an appointment yesterday with the WIC office so of course we got a height and weight out of Britlee. I must say I am awfully proud of my chunker. In the last month (since our last appointment) Britlee has gained over 2 1/2 pounds!! YAY! :) Seriously, wow. She is now weighing in at 9 lbs. and 10oz. She has some rolls and I just love them and those darn cheeks make me smile every time I look at her. She is in the 75th percentile for weight. YA Britlee. Way to go!!! I must say she hasn't grown much though, since birth she has only grown 1 1/2 inches. Putting her in the 50th percentile. But honestly since she is a Packer this is to be expected and we are still super proud! She is now fitting into some of her 0-3 month outfits, but still mainly wears her newborn attire.

We have had quite an adventure trying new things lately. One being cloth diapers. And holy smokes does she look adorable in them. She is quite the pee-er so she has to be changed a lot, which puts us out of the cloth diapers pretty quickly. So we of course and looking to get more. Since she goes through them so fast it seems as though one day is cloth and the next is disposableand than back to cloth. We will get this down soon I promise. But honestly it isn't as bad as I had feared cloth diapers to be. So this may work out after all!

Britlee sure is changing. She smiles a lot more frequently, gets cuter everyday, loves snuggles, and sure hates to miss anything. Before she would fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but now she must think she will miss something if she does. She is up and alert more, which is so fun. We get to watch her play and smile and just be content. But when she gets tired she will let you know, oh will she sometimes. She will fight it for as long as possible. She flops her head from side to side and scoots down on you til her head is buried in your arm or chest and then moves all around again. She constantly moves so she won't fall asleep and if she does she'll open her eyes real quickly and nice and big. Even when she is eating and super tired she cries for a second just to keep herself up I assume because than she will stop and then do it again later if her eyes start drooping. What a character.

As for Justin and I, well not many changes. Justin started a new job a couple weeks ago and is enjoying it. It is weird for both of us still to have him home around 5pm. Before it was so much later then that. As for me, well...my finger is still intact and I am sure grateful. Ok so it wasn'tthat traumatic, but there were moments it felt like it. I was getting dinner ready the other day and was cutting the carrots, but somehow missed the carrot entirely and just got my finger. So things got a little messy for awhile. But no worries we got it wrapped real good and eventually the bleeding stopped. Now really the only complaint I have (as long as I don't bump it ) is that everything is a bit more challenging, it all takes so much longer. But we will survive and make it through!

see what I mean by cuter every day!! This was her on Sunday

What's in a name?

How did you get your name? Is there a story, or did your parents just like a name and gave it to you?

I personally have had my children's names picked out since I was a little girl. I never thought they would change. Even before marrying Justin I told him all of them so he could get used to them. Poor guy didn't have a say. But than one day I was sitting in sacrament meeting and heard a boys name that I absolutely fell in love with. Which means one more name to add to my list. When we found out we were pregnant I just knew all the names I had picked out were not going to be used to name this child. Oh boy, what disappointment. So I had to start searching. We decided if it was a girl we would use Britni, my sister's name that died shortly after birth. From there we didn't know whether it would be a middle name or a first name. I picked some favorites and shared them with Justin. Some he liked, and some he didn't. Sometimes I wondered why I gave him the option to help because before when I had my childhood names there was no changing my mind. It just makes it so much more complicated to add a spouse in helping to make the decision. It's hard enough with just me. OPINIONS...sometimes it's good to share them and sometimes it just makes life so much more complicated, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not. But I do have to admit it is fun to look through baby name books. There are some INTERESTING ones out there. I am glad Justin helped pick the name though, really it can't just be left up to me. :)

After months and months of searching and discussing we finally got Britlee's name down to a list of TWO!! YAY, we felt so proud. Justin was going crazy not having a name and I just kept saying well we gotta wait and see her to officially decide. Thank goodness Justin is patient and loves me or I think he would have strangled me. Ok not really but you know what I mean. People kept asking us her name and I think Justin was tempted to just say the one he liked and that would be that. But thank goodness he didn't because just a month or so before Britlee was born my sister in law mentioned Britlee to us again and of course we fell in love. The first time we heard it we liked it but somehow it didn't make it to the top 5 or whatever list we had going. So after that a long discussion took place and we added it to the top two! YAY for us, it really felt like an accomplishment to have two names we both loved and agreed upon. So the next step was just waiting until we saw our bundle of joy to decide on the official name. That day did come and still I was so unsure. I loved both names and I didn't want her to have the wrong one. So it took us a couple days in the hospital, but now Britlee is Britlee forever! And we LOVE it! It fits her so well...I think anyways.

So to end the suspense of whether Britlee's name has meaning, I know you were all just sitting on the edge of your seats wondering, I have to say YES it sure does. Her whole name is filled with meaning! It is also made up, so it is very unique to us. Though I have to admit we were not the ones to make up Britlee's name, it was her Uncle Ryan and Aunt Karen. They are so creative :)

So now I will tell you where Britlee Rayne came from.
I have a sister, Britni, that died shortly after birth and since I was having a girl and she was due the same month my sister was due I thought it would be kinda cool to name my baby after my sister. It took a long time to decide whether Britni would be the first name or the middle name. We tossed lots of ideas around. Ryan suggested Britlee--Britni and Lee combined. So Britlee is named after her aunt and her grandma! Lee is my mother's middle name. Pretty neat if you ask me :)
Rayne is a combination of my Grandma's middle name and Justin's grandpa's name. RA is from Rae (my grandma's middle name) and AYNE is from Wayne (Justin's grandpa's name).
Ryan came up with her first name and Karen came up with her middle name. So as you see our baby girl Britlee is super special with a special name and being named by her aunt and uncle. She is one lucky girl.

So what is in your name?

Miracles!!

Right after my water broke. I felt great, though a little large :)


Just before we left! Mommy with daddy and mommy with Uncle Cory.

What an adventure life can be. As most, if not all of you know, our baby has arrived! Quite unexpectedly if I might add, but of course we were overjoyed. Our little angel, Britlee Rayne arrived April 10th at 10:55pm weighing 7 pounds and 20 inches long. She is absolutely perfect. Honestly some days I wonder how we got so lucky to have such an amazing little one. She is so good and cuddly, I just can't get enough of her.

So I must tell you our story...

Justin and I have expected this little one to arrive late, as most first babies do go past their due date. So as the due date approached we just thought ok well thats cool but who knows when she will come. Of course a couple weeks prior she started to make her way a little with dilation progression but than nothing so we thought she would still come late. So we continued to go about our business. Justin continued with work, finished his finals and made plans to play golf. I continued cleaning and cooking and hoping for warmer weather so I could go for walks, oh and of course shopping. lol. Sunday started just like any other day. I slept in a little and took my sweet time getting ready, seeing as church isn't until 1pm. Justin had to work so we had breakfast and eventually he left. I decided, "well today maybe I will do my hair." I haven't really done my hair much the last few weeks. So I felt great anddecided Sunday was the day to do it, plus we were coming to week forty the next day so I thought I needed to take a picture. I got ready and walked over to church. Of course I was slightly uncomfortable as I felt huge but other than that I was as happy as I could be and felt great. My friends kept giving me a hard time that I would go into labor at church. But no such luck for them, which I must admit I was very grateful because I would have been quite embarrassed. Anyways...so I made it through church and they were worried for me to walk home but I felt great so I waddled my way home.
After church I started to get dinner ready. We were having lasagna, Justin's favorite. Which of course I didn't have quite enough noodles. I didn't even check because I thought for sure I had a whole box. Way to go pregnant woman right. So I had to text a friend and borrow some. I left to pick up Cory for our weekly ritual Sunday dinner. Still feeling super. I needed to run (HA yeah right, more like waddle) to my friends house so I told Cory how to get it all started. When I got back we finished it off and put it in the oven.
I am always bad about my timing on how long it takes to make dinner so dinner would not be ready when Justin got home, but such is life. So we just chatted and waited for Justin to get off work. Justin had been home almost a half hour and dinner was just minutes away from being ready. We got up to heat up the vegetables on the stove. I had to pee so I walked in the bathroom, shut the door (sorry if youfeel this is too much info) and UH OH...I called for Justin, in the meantime peed. Cory kept saying Justin, Kelli is calling for you I think her water broke. Who knows what it feels like to have your water break? I sure didn't but I knew something was off and had to assume that's what it was. Justin came in and I told him and he said "Are you sure you didn't pee your pants?" HA, yes I'm sure. I have more control than that. Anyways I called my mom and asked her. She said her water never broke but assumed what I described was right. So now I can leave out the rest of those details. We called the widwife she said to time the contractions and head to hospital when they are 4 minutes apart for one hour and one minute long. So I was hungry and said lets eat dinner. :) The the midwife called back and said I needed to go to hospital now because I needed to start on the antibiotics for Strep B so the baby wouldn't get sick.
Everything went great! Honestly I couldn't be happier. We took an amazing birthing class which I must say was Superb. I can't even describe how grateful I am for that class. I was able to have the birth I dreamed of, ALL NATURAL!! Go Hypnobirthing!! And oddly enough it was very short. 3 1/2 hours! AMAZING. Who knew birth could go so quickly. Everyone I talked to said it lasted more than 8 hours. Mine was 3 1/2 from time of water breaking til time of birth. I didn't even feel any contractions, or as we like to call them, surges, that day. This little girl was ready when she was ready. When they say birth is a miracle they aren't kidding. Seriously it is the most amazing experience I have ever had. I can still remember seeing Britlee and being able to pull her up on my stomach. There is no greater feeling. She stared at me for almost an hour. Her eyes nice and wide open. Her daddy and I of course cried. Honestly how can you not. She was (and still is) perfect and beautiful. She had a hard time breathing after a little bit because she had too much nasty stuff in her because she was silly and pooped while still inside and swallowed some. Silly babies that do that. But they cleared it out and she is perfectly fine.
My little brother Cory was there to be able to video after she was birthed, don't worry we didn't video tape the actual birth. To me that is just too much, no one wants to see that side of me. lol! But he got video of her being weighed and measured and such. We stayed in the hospital for 48 hours and finally got home LATE Tuesday night. And oh boy did we sleep good. I think Britlee likes her new home, she slept much better here than she did in the hospital during the night.
Being a mom is fantastic! Honestly I just feel so happy all the time and constantly want to take pictures cause she is so perfect. I am exhausted, of course, but because of my mom being around I have been able to take naps during the day.

On our way home. Isn't she SOOOOOO cute!

Photo Fiasco

I am so excited, a few weeks ago Cory took some "family" pictures for us. I thought it would be fun to have family photos before baby with the pregnant belly and such and of course we will be taking lots after she arrives! So Cory being so nice said he would do it--mainly because it meant he could use his fancy camera!

It was a cold day, but when are they not cold in Rexburg? After the pictures were taken, getting them to the store to be developed was seriously a huge fiasco. One I kept forgetting to get them developed. I would go to Walmart and have the film in my purse and on the drive back home realize I forgot to drop them off. That had to of happened at least 3 times. I finally took Cory with me so he kept reminding me to do it. When I went to pick them up only one was there. Interesting to me that they say it is a two day thing and I had waited a week and they only had one done and not two. So lame. So the pictures below are the ones from the first roll, and the second-well I gotta find a way to put those on CD because Walmart had too much difficulty I guess. When I went to pick up the second roll they had made them slides and not pictures. I was SUPER confused. I didn't even know you could still do that. lol. So I told them I didn't want them, I had requested the pictures and a CD. So they fixed it and I went back to pick them up after they called and told me it was ready. That trip I assumed (which is never a good thing) that it was right and just paid for it and left. When I got home guess what, NO CD! Seriously so frustrating, so now I am waiting for Justin to be able to go and say something. Maybe than they will get it right. I really don't know why it is so hard. But anyways we have some pictures. I am not very photogenic so please take that into account. I swear these pictures make me look bigger than I am, but maybe I just have a different perception or at least what I am hoping for. HAHA so enjoy our little family!

Projects and more Projects

Forever I didn't understand why pregnant women counted down to their due date and just couldn't wait for it to be over. I am slightly beginning to understand it. Probably not to the same extent as some because honestly I feel pretty great, but I must admit every day my back hurts more and more. Today mainly because I was on my feet all day yesterday and my stomach is just poking out more and more so it puts a lot of pressure on the back--right?! :) So as we speak I am basically laying on my birthing ball. It helps, honestly. It does make it a little harder to type with a ball and a belly in the way, but somehow my arms are still reaching the computer! One more week until our due date, but honestly who knows when she will decide to make her appearance! About two weeks ago we went to the doctor and found out I was already 2 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. How exciting!! As we left we both felt slightly unprepared, we thought oh my we weren't expecting her for at least 2-3 weeks. So we hurried and got the last minute things we could think of, of course everyday I think of more things. But at least we got the necessities. The following week we went to the doctor thinking maybe there would be more progress, but NOPE! This little one must be paying a lot of attention to Justin and I. We are always teasing each other and I guess she wants to join in on the fun :) We knew the progress didn't really mean much cause it could still be weeks, but we just got so excited that we might get to meet her soon. So now we are back on track just thinking she will come when she is ready! So in the mean time I am re-cleaning our apartment. This is a daily thing but now I am doing more deep cleaning and it drives me crazy that we have to mess it all up. It's just supposed to stay perfect til she comes. If you came to my house today though you wouldn't think I cleaned at all. I have stuff everywhere...mainly a blanket I am working on.
Also during my wait she and I have done more walking and talking. She can be quite the chatter box you know :) This is of course with all of her kicks and movements. We have been discussing a lot how crazy daddy is. He is constantly making us laugh. I must admit I think Justin really panicked at first (of course didn't say anything) when we thought she might come sooner than the semester being over. With all his homework and studying and such, how were we to fit it all in. But He has one more day and than it's over so she can come ANYTIME now. Now that she has teased us, I'm sure she will wait until we least expect her, I tell you, it's her teasing.
Anyways...so to occupy my time I have continued sewing on a blanket I started for her and even started making headbands! It's so fun to become a mom for a little girl. I had no idea it would be so fun. I was kind of nervous since I didn't and still don't do all the cute girly things. But I am so loving all of this. So our little one will definitely be in style...well maybe :)
I am sure you are all curious and want to see my work in process projects so I am going to attach a few pictures. Someday I will finish the blanket but I need my mom or my aunt's help I think so we will wait for them.

I cut out pieces from a bunch of different fabrics as you can see and sewed them together.

Here I am trying to figure out how I want all the blocks arranged and put together. This last one is after it is all sewn together. Almost done!!

Here are all the supplies. Than the headband and finally the flowers to put on the headband!