Completion

Wow...April has been a busy month. I cannot believe that it's practically over, but I think it's safe to say that when I look back at the end of 2010 April will be the most memorable month.

Lena Kathleen Elkington arrived Thursday April 15th at 9:10am. She weighed just one ounce less than her big brother - 8 lbs 5 oz. She is also our resident shorty as she measured in at 19 inches (Dylan was 21 inches).

Words cannot possibly describe how much this little girl has already changed our world. I know she's only a week old, but I firmly believe that you can tell a child's demeanor/personality from the day they are born. Lena is proving to be a sweetheart. She is quiet, sleepy, and loves to be snuggled. Complete opposite of Dylan when he was a newborn. It took me several months to feel bonded to Dylan. I feel very greatful to have felt the bond with Lena throughout my pregnancy and it just grew stronger once she entered the world.

I am so in love with this little snuggly thing and I very rarely put her down. I will probably regret that in a few months when she's attached to my hip 24/7, but for now I just don't care. People have told me that you just 'know' when you are done having kids. I didn't really believe that, but hoped it was true because of how fickle I have always been in the children department. I can now attest that it's true...you just 'know.' Within hours of my surgery, I just had the overwhelming feeling that our family is complete. I have my two perfect children and I honestly feel they are the two who needed to come to us.

Mom and daughter meet for the first time. This C-section was so much better than my surgery with Dylan. I was completely aware of everything going on this time and felt like I was able to take it all in and enjoy what was happening. I cried as soon as I heard her cry and didn't stop until they wheeled her to the nursery. It was also nice that Mike was coherent this time around...he was super sick when we had Dylan and neither of us really remember much about his actual birth.

Getting checked out...she's perfect.

Lena is already a Daddy's girl. She loves to snuggle up with Mike. Can't say I blame her, he is pretty comfy to lean on. We both knew long ago that Mike would be mush if we ever had a little girl. We were so right. His entire demeanor changes when he so much as looks at her. It is the most amazing thing to see.

Seriously...how can you resist that sweet face...angel kisses and all?!

Love me some baby footsies.

Lena loves her little vibrating chair. I have to admit, it looks pretty comfy and I wouldn't mind being able to take a nap in it myself.

The very very proud big brother. Dylan was so hesitant when we were in the hospital. I think it kind of scared him. But, he has been awesome since we have been home. He asks to hold 'baby sissy' several times a day and will hold her as long as she isn't crying. He even tells me to go away so they can have some privacy. He is going to be an awesome big brother!

It's safe to say that we are loving our newly expanded family. I've already forgotten how life was before Lena arrived. She was totally worth the wait.

The Big 3-0 (again)

I say 'again' in the title because I know I used the same title back in February for Mike's 30th. I have to admit that despite being miserably fat and uncomfortable, this has actually been a pretty enjoyable Birthday for me. I know most people freak out about turning 30, but I couldn't care less. Perhaps because I've got bigger things on my mind.

The gifts started rolling in last week. First I got a 2 lb box of See's full of only my favorites. Let's just say, the box did not last very long. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I ate almost the entire box all by myself. Shoot, I didn't even tell Mike about the candy for several days.

To counteract the See's, I also received the P90X workout system and a check to buy some new running shoes. All courtesy of my parents. I'm so ready to lose this baby weight and am determined to not have it take 2 years like it did after I had Dylan. I can't believe that I am actually excited about working out again. It's a great stress relief for me and my workouts went to zero after we moved.

Today (my actual Birthday), turned out to be pretty nice. The weather here has been WAY warmer than is normal for this time of year. The past three days it has been in the mid-90's. Playgroup decided to meet at the locals beach this morning and even though I have no summer maternity clothes, I improvised and made the 20 minute trek. Gee, it's rough living so close to the awesomeness of the beach. I have learned (from visiting my parents in Charleston) that Dylan is a total beach bum. The child loves the water and sand and sun. So, I knew this would make for a fun morning for us. The playgroup mommas even sang Happy Birthday to me and one of them brought brownies as a special treat to share with everyone.

The water was SO FREEZING COLD! But, none of the kids seemed to care...including Dylan. He really has no fear of the water, which is incredibly scary for me. There were several times I thought I'd have to jump in the ice water with my clothes on to grab him. Luckily, threats to leave and go home worked to keep him somewhat in check.

(Seriously, I just love this kid's feet. They are so chubby and adorable).

When we got home from the beach, I was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my Mom and Dad. Mike was able to come home from work really early today and he arrived with an Edible Arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries. YUM! Those are my absolute favorite treat...my two guys did a good job. I'm pretty sure they will all be gone by the end of tomorrow. Apparently everyone was out to make me gain a ton of weight during my last two weeks of pregnancy. Oh well, I'm enjoying it while I don't have to feel guilty.

I was really hoping for a Birthday surprise baby, but it's not looking like that will happen. So, I'm hanging in for another 7 days. Thanks to all who made this a wonderful 30th. I am so lucky to have the family and friends that I do.

Easter

Easter kind of came and went in a blur this year. I felt like a really lame mom because I didn't do a whole lot for Dylan, but we did manage to slip in a couple fun things. For play group last week, we had an Easter Egg Hunt at the church. Dylan walked away with only 3 eggs because he was a little hesitant to run off on his own, but once he saw they all had candy inside he didn't seem to care about the amount. I just didn't let him see the baskets of 20 eggs that the other kids were carrying around.

Easter Sunday was a little different this year because we didn't actually go to church. Instead, we were able to sleep in a bit and enjoy General Conference via the Internet. I made this awesome French Toast Casserole for breakfast. Got the recipe from my friend Christine, who made it for my baby shower brunch. SO yummy!

Dylan spent the morning playing CandyLand a gazillion times. Mike and I can stand to play 2 or 3 games a day with him, but that is never enough. So, Dylan will often play by himself. He just loves to play board games.

Mike and I wanted to catch a few extra minutes of sleep Sunday morning, so Mike came up with a brilliant idea to keep Dylan occupied for a while. He built him a 'clubhouse' in the living room. Dylan sat in his 'private clubhouse' for about an hour! It was awesome!

I really felt like I gave Dylan the lamest Easter basket this year. A couple books, some Starbursts and Cadbury mini-eggs (his favorite, which also happens to be MY favorite). Lucky for me, he's still too young to care about quantity and he was perfectly content with his treats.

Easter is honestly my favorite holiday. I love having this special time of year to remember that the Savior LIVES. Not to mention that the candy is awesome!

The end is near

I have been really bad about documenting my pregnancy via pictures. Actually, I wasn't that great with Dylan either, but I had a co-worker who would take pictures of me almost weekly. I really wish I'd taken the time to journal more with each of my pregnancies, but I get lazy and well, life gets crazy.

Figured since I'm officially considered full term now (37 weeks), I should get at least one last belly shot. I feel a lot bigger than I look in these photos. Everyone says you forget about the bad parts of being pregnant and having a newborn...I guess I'm the only honest woman out there...you DO NOT FORGET! At least, I didn't forget. I tried to complain less this time, but honestly I'm a horrible pregnant woman and my self esteem suffers terribly. Good thing I have a great husband who still tells me I'm beautiful almost daily!

I really hate taking self portraits...especially in awful bathroom lighting, in the mirror. But, I also feel stupid asking someone else to take a belly shot for me and I can never get the angle right to use the self timer. Guess this is the best I'll get.