Happiness in Family Life...

Wow, time is flying by so fast. Baby Alexa is already over a month old. She is starting to smile in response to us, but it's not super-consistent yet. Besides that, it's just eat, sleep and poop. And look super-cute while doin' it!

This pic was when she was almost 2 weeks:

I love the way her hair curls after a bath (it only lasts about 5 seconds):
And our biggest news lately: Ethan is potty-training! He is doing pretty well. This is him, after he earned enough potty stickers to go to Hollywood Connection. He only smiled like this BEFORE the ride took off. He hated the "dragon monor-coaster". But he enjoyed the other rides.

I bought these matching pillowcase dresses on Etsy for the girls to match for Easter:

And Ethan got a new suit:

hehehe, I love my little bundle:)

Alexa's first outing in the "train", as the kids call it. I bought that trailer like 2 years ago, with this intent...who knew it would take so long to fill the back seat? People comment on it wherever we go, though. I love my wagon.

One month old:

aaawwww

If you know me very well, you know that one of my favorite favorite things is the Tulips at Temple Square. If I were Oprah and had a "favorite things" episode, these might just be number one:

If only they could always be sweet like this:

Yay for warm weather, FINALLY! The kids have been outside all day every day this week. Let's hope it stays...

My April Fools Baby

These first two pictures are of Alexa today, 5 days old. Isn't she so sweet? She looks just like Cassidy to me. But please, allow me to start from the beginning. I love being induced. I see no reason to go through the worry, anticipation, and most of all, the waiting to go into labor. I prefer to have it all planned out. My bags are packed, my house is clean, my husband has taken the time off work, the children have babysitters...and again, I don't have to wait. My doctor said I could be induced 7 days early, which happened to put Alexa's birthday on April Fools Day. Fun fun. Some people told me it was a terrible idea, that she would come out a boy or something. We went ahead with the induction date anyway.

I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. that morning and thought for sure I would have a baby by early afternoon. Well, the April Fools jokes began early, because as I was showering at 5:45 that morning, the hospital called and told me they were really busy and would need to push back my induction. Great. Then when I got to the hospital, they were out of Pitocin. Really? A Labor/Delivery ward out of Pitocin? That's just sad. I finally got started at NOON. The epidural didn't work quite right, labor was taking FOREVER, they had to keep increasing my Pitocin, the list went on.

Finally, it was time to push this baby out. I heard someone say that her cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times, so I started crying. My doctor kept telling me to push, but I couldn't, because I thought she was dead. I just kept crying. But they finally convinced me and we got her out.

Baby Alexa was born at 8:35 p.m. and weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. We were very excited. She was healthy as could be, so apparently the cord around her neck was just another of nature's April Fools Jokes on Mommy.

No delivery story is complete without the "lovely" first Mom and Baby photo, messy hair and all: First Bath:Cassidy and Ethan were so funny when they met Baby Alex the next day. Ethan stood in the corner for a few minutes and wouldn't go anywhere near her. They both warmed up after a few minutes and couldn't stop stroking her hair.Baby Alexa's first time in clothes:When I bought these little jammies, I thought there was no way she would ever fit into them. But I brought them to the hospital, just in case she was tiny. So far they are the only thing I have found that truly fits her tiny body.The other day she soiled through an outfit, so I sent Daddy upstairs to change her. I assumed he would bring her back in jammies, but he came down the stairs and said, "Look, it's her first time wearing a dress." What a cute hubby I have. He is SO in love with Alexa. I just thought this was sweet, my little family hangin' out:Ethan found the camera and took this of his face:Ethan fell asleep on the couch yesterday, so we took a picture. Then we thought, hmm...he can't hurt her when he's sleeping, right? So we stuck Alexa on him:

Baby Alexa is happy, healthy, and adorable as can be.

And the rest of us are just trying to catch our Zzz's when we can!

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p.s. if you thought these pictures were cute, please continue on to the next post. Cutest pictures EVER.

Alexa's 1st Photo Shoot

Baby Alexa had her first photo shoot right there in the hospital, when she was one day old. The photographer was excellent. So much improved from those awful blue and pink splotchy background pictures we've all grown accustomed to. Those of you who are worried about copyright laws, fear not. We purchased the cd, and with it came the copyright release:)

The rest of this post needs no explanation, so enjoy:

There are many more photos, but blogger is struggling to handle these photos, since they are much larger files than photos I take with my own camera. I gave up on uploading, and I figured you would get the point by now: Alexa is VERY cute.

Alexa's Room

Cassidy gets to share her room with Alexa, and she is super-excited about it. She recently just moved into her big-girl bed and I cried. Yes, I know she's 5 1/2, but still, she was my first baby and she's getting so big! We've gone with a butterfly theme in the girls' room:
I am particulary proud of Alexa's baby mobile. I took an old junky mobile and made this:
Cassidy's bed, dresser and the changing table were all white, so I had Joel paint the crib for me to match. I love how it turned out, but I feel terrible, because I didn't realize what a huge project it would become until it was already too late. Let's hope I don't change my mind on the crib color for the next baby...

My sisters and mom helped me make Alexa's butterfly quilt:

Then I made a matching changing pad cover for the changing table. I also made these bow hangers to hang above, and love how they turned out:

That's the whole tour of the girls' room. Lots of butterflies, lots of pink, and not much space. Such is life. At least it all fits (barely).