How I spent my Christmas Eve

The day started early for me. My Mom was flying in from Utah to spend Christmas with us and her plane didn't get in until 12:15am. We got her all settled in and finally got to sleep around 1:30. I was so glad that she was here! Having your Mom around to help out when you have a baby is just the best thing. I am so lucky to have her and such great sisters too! They make everything so much easier. :) I think the baby knew just when to come, because that morning at around 7:45 my water broke. Yippee!! I called my doctor, got Brian out of bed and we grabbed our stuff and headed to the hospital. I was so excited the entire time. I was actually welcoming the contractions that were coming. I had been hoping to feel contractions all week and they were finally here! The trip to the hospital was so much fun. I think it's because I was so nervous about actually going into labor until at that moment. It wasn't that pleasant of an experience when I had Erek and I was worried it would be the same with BrinLee. Once I realized I was ready to have her, and was VERY uncomfortable being pregnant, I got excited. The entire day went pretty smoothly and I really enjoyed the whole experience. The nurse that spent the whole day with me was great and when her shift ended, I was able to get the same nurse that delivered Erek two years before. I was so comfortable the whole time (thank you drugs) and was totally making jokes and laughing with my doctor and the nurse, while I was pushing. 5 pushes later, she was here! *sigh* It was incredible. She was born at 7:40pm. Erek wasn't allowed to come into the hospital because of the Swine Flu going around, so we didn't get to spend Christmas Day with him until we got home on the 26th. He really enjoyed spending time with his Grandma while she was here though and was pretty spoiled.

What a little sweetheart!

She is here!

Thanks Uncle Jon!

10 months... and still counting!

So my due date is here and the baby is not. I wonder what it feels like to go into labor all on your own. I was actually excited to get that experience, but I don't think it's going to happen this time either. I really hope I don't have to wait 10 days to get induced, like I did with Erek. I have an appointment in a couple of hours and I am going to hopefully schedule something for Saturday. I kept feeling like this little girl was going to come early, and then we decided to move a week and a half before my due date and I was doing everything I could to keep her in until we moved. Now I am ready and she is still just hanging out, loving life where she is. :) I'm guessing she isn't going to be very small either, considering I feel like a gigantic bus and can't believe how much my tummy sticks out. I'm so excited to see her and to hold her and I don't think I have ever felt so excited to go into labor. Wish me luck!

P.S. I do plan on finishing my vacation post, but it might have to wait until later.

Day Three of our Coeur d' Alene Vacation

Day three started off in the streets of Downtown Coeur d' Alene for the 4th of July parade.

Here is a picture of Erek and his Grandma Evie and behind them is Grandpa Rusty with Mikey.

This is one of Erek's famous looks. He likes to try and be sneaky and look at people without turning his head.

The poor little guy doesn't like the heat very much. His cheeks always turn pink.

After the parade, we took a 30 minute drive to a little town named Kellogg. They have a nice ski resort, and in the summer time, you can still ride the Gondola to the top of the mountain.

Here is Brian and Erek, Grandma Evie, Brian's brother Mike and wife Taylor, and their kids Mikey and Carter.

Enjoying the ride.

Erek just woke up and was a little confused.

Erek (18 months), Mikey (19 1/2 months).

There was a fun little park at the top of the mountain for the kids to run around in. Notice the sign next to the slide. (Children ages 3-11 ONLY please.) We don't follow the rules.

We ended the day back in Downtown Coeur d' Alene next to the lake to watch the fireworks. The sun doesn't go down until about 9:30, so we had to wait around until 10:30 to watch the show. Erek had already fallen asleep by then, but the rest of us enjoyed it!

Day Two of our Coeur d' Alene Vacation

Most of day two was also spent in the car. We did take a small little detour through Idaho Falls. It took my breath away to stand next to the falls and hear the rushing water so close. I wanted to stay there all morning!

Brian reminded me that we had only been driving for a few hours and needed to get back on the road though, so we piled back into the car. Most of the drive was through Montana (which is beautiful!) and finally in the early afternoon we were passing through Northern Idaho with only a few hours to Coeur d' Alene. I was amazed at how many trees there were! Everywhere we looked there were pine trees covering every inch of space around us. (We went on a little hike looking for huckleberries a few days later in our trip and I will post some of the great shots I got of the beautiful scenery in that post.)

Brian's brother Mike and his wife Taylor bought us tickets to go to the Demolition Derby with them that same evening. It was really hot and we were pretty tired from driving all day, but we still ended up having a great time! It's hard not to have a good time with Mike and Taylor. They are a blast and I was SO GLAD to finally spend some time with them! The derby was pretty cool. Erek LOVED watching all of the cars. His favorite word is Car and anything with two or more wheels on it, to him, is a car. The crowd was a little crazy and the cigarette smoke got to be unbearable, so we had to ditch out early, before the fireworks. We were bummed to leave, but more exhausted than we thought.

Here are some pictures from the Derby.

Uncle Mike, Erek and Brian

Aunt Taylor and Cousin Mikey.

Grandpa Rusty feeding Mikey a red slushy.

Mmmmm...

Day One of our Coeur d' Alene Vacation!

Technically, we didn't even get to Coeur d' Alene on day one, but it was all part of the vacation. We decided to drive the 24 hour trip at the last minute. Flying at the last minute would have been way more expensive. Plus we hadn't taken a road trip in a while and thought it felt like a good time. So... day one was spent in the car from 3am to 3pm. It wasn't a bad ride and Erek did really well.

The monkey around his neck isn't supposed to look like a choker. He wouldn't keep it on and kept suffering from bobble head syndrome, so I had to sneak it on while he was sleeping.

When we arrived in Salt Lake, we had dinner with my Mom and then stayed at her place for the night. I have been craving stinkin Cafe Rio since I moved from Las Vegas, so it was nice to go there for dinner and enjoy the goodness. :)