First Beach Day of Summer

Our new friend, Megan Hebdon, who lives in our complex, invited us to go to the beach with her and some other sisters in our ward. We miraculously fit 3 car seats in the back of her truck! We went down to Zuma for a hot, fun, and fabulous day at the beach, the first one of the summer for us, and one of the few, I'm sure (it's just not super practical going to the beach with a little, still-nursing baby). We had fun! Brooke loved playing in the sand and with the other kids there. Camille wasn't quite sure about the sand at first. But after a little while, she was crawling and rolling around in it and really loving it. It was really fun for me, later, trying to get all that sand off of her. :) Brooke, Camille and I spent some time chasing waves together, giving my arms quite a workout. The water was freezing! But we had a lot of fun.

Petite Princess

Camille at 8 Months - 

Height -- 25 in.

Weight -- 13 lbs. 2 oz.

They didn't give me any percentages. So, I assume she isn't on the charts anymore. Last time we went in, she was in the 1st percentile. And she hasn't grown all that much in 2 months. She's too tiny for their newfangled charts! The doctor is only semi-concerned about it. "Well, she is growing," she said, "She's just not growing as fast as I would like." The way I see it, Camille comes from 2 fairly petite parents, and one of those parents comes from a long line of petites on both sides. So, she just got all of that petite. :)

And now, for some pictures:

 *Sometimes, what works best when I have to get something done downstairs is putting Camille in her highchair and giving her some cereal to work on, in this picture, Rice Krispies. This particular day, Brooke requested some Rice Krispies, too. So I put a pile on Camille's tray, she pulled up a chair, and together they ate Rice Krispies. And listened to the song, "Sisters, Sisters" over and over again. *

*Brooke built a robot. :)*

*My petite princess. She's not tall or big enough for her highchair. We had to safety pin the straps down, and she can hardly reach the food that's on her tray. I love it. *

 *My little sleeping beauty*

*The morning after laundry day, there was still a pile of rags on the couch needing to be folded and put away. While I was doing something in the kitchen, Brooke just sat down on the couch and started folding the rags. And she did a pretty fantastic job, too, for one so young and so untrained in such things! That girl is one special little being. And I was one proud and pleased mamma!*

*I am loving these little girl braids! A few weeks ago, I decided to try doing braids in Brooke's hair, and it pretty much worked. We now do braids a few times a week. I think she loves them as much as I do. She requested braids for her hair on Sunday.*

May Pictures

 *This is how I spend my time all day every day. I LOVE being a mom! And I SUPER LOVE my little girls! I think they are wonderful!*

 *Everyone's favorite picture of Camille. We 3 girls went on a little run in our new-used double jogger. We stopped at the park on the way home and I snapped this. She is the smiliest, happiest baby, and oh, so cute!*

 *My cute little girls, just hanging out after they woke up from naps.*

 *This girl loves to chew on and play with Brooke's beaded necklaces. And she was just looking too cute not to take a picture.*

*Brooke placed, oh, so carefully on Camille's head, a wipe.*

Random Pictures and Catching Up

*Camille is the best cuddle bug ever! I LOVE cuddle time with my baby! Lately we've taken to nursing in my bed when Brooke is napping, and more often than not, we fall asleep like that. It's just the best. *

* One day, I made up some bath paints for Brooke to play with in the tub. I found the idea on pinterest and really had to try it. It was not a disappointment! She played in the tub with those paints for an hour before I had to force her to clean up and get out. It was good fun! *

* Brooke really loves to get into Mamma's makeup. We have many pictures of her with makeup all over her face. It's funny, and really cute. *

* Somebody found her toes. And she loves to chew on them. *

* She has such huge beautiful eyes! *

* Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made some pretty festive, yet disgusting, green food: green, lucky charms pancakes (with the marshmallows in it); and then, a quesadilla with a green tortilla and green salsa; and for dinner, vegan sausage and potatoes dish. We did sidewalk chalk using green chalk, and went on a fun walk. *

* We've had really wonderful weather the last few months. These pictures were taken at the park. It's so great to be outside with the girls. They love it! And so do I! *

* Cuddle time with my wonderful little girls! My favorite time of the day! *

* ... more makeup ... *

* Date night! I took Daniel to an Indian restaurant and then to see "Cinderella" in the theaters. It was a really fun date, and a nice break for both of us from busy season. Daniel really loved the Indian food and I really loved the movie (I mean, I really liked the food, too, and Daniel enjoyed the movie). We don't have enough dates, I think. *

* 5 months old!?! Already??? *

Disneyland with the Family

 Daniel took me and the girls to Disneyland once, just us. And then we went to Disneyland one time more with Bekah and Chris and Gramma Holbrook when they came. We just went up for one of the days they were there. We had a grand old time with them! Especially Brooke. She LOVED playing with her cousins, and she and Brooklyn seemed to get on especially well. It was really fun to watch them and oh, so cute. It seemed really busy on the day we went with them; more so than the day we went by ourselves. But I'd checked the weather, and it was supposed to rain that day. I was hoping the rain would drive people out of the park. Well, it did rain. A lot, and hard. I was surprised. I was expecting a little sprinkling for maybe a short time. But no. We got really wet, and we were not fully prepared. But ... it did drive some of the crowd out of the park. And it was still a really fun day.

We went to Medford for a quick trip, and also for a job interview for Daniel. It was nice to visit with my family. And Daniel got the job. But we didn't take it.

*Our 6th anniversary happened while we were in Medford. We took advantage of some great, free babysitting to do a fun anniversary date. We drove out to Jacksonville for dinner at a fun Thai restaurant, which, of course, I loved, loved, loved! We walked around Jacksonville for a while after dinner, looking at all of the old buildings and stopping to read the plaques telling about the history of Jacksonville. And we topped it all off with a drive outside of town to a secluded spot for a little stargazing. It was the perfect evening!*

Camille Aileen Holbrook

Camille Aileen Holbrook was born on October 20, 2014. And we are super excited to have her.  This is the story . . .

So. We ended up somewhere around the morning of the 20th. Daniel and I went to an appointment to see Dr. Tuso. Dr. Tuso checked me and said I was dilated to a 4. He stripped my membranes (again), and then we met with him in his office, where he told us that he would prefer to induce me either that day or the next day because Baby's heartbeat was looking just a little off. But since it wasn't an emergency, I decided that I'd rather wait to be induced.

That was certainly the right decision, because Daniel took me home before heading off to work, and I went into labor, almost immediately. It started out more quickly than I anticipated. My contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart, and they sped up rather more rapidly than I thought would happen. I timed my contractions, how far apart they were, and how long they were. After a few hours, I told Daniel he should probably come home. And after he did, we deliberated and debated when we should go to the hospital. I was a bit confused, because I had never gone into labor on my own and didn't know how my body was going to handle it. So, they say that when your contractions are 4 or 5 minutes apart and 1 minute long, and after you have had this kind of pattern for at least an hour, then you go to the hospital. But... my contractions were 2 or 3 minutes apart, but only about half the time were they a full minute or longer. So, I wasn't quite sure we should go in.

I started labor at about 10:30 in the morning, and at around 3:45, I said, "We better get the hopsital. Now!" For about an hour, or even less, before that point, my contractions were getting really quite bad. Before they were hard, but bearable. But then they got really painful.  I insisted we get to the hospital.

Brooke touching the belly while Leslie works through contractions.

It's a good thing I did! Daniel drove me to the hospital.  Daniel helped me into the hospital, they got me in a wheelchair and rode me (a rather bumpier ride than I wanted) up to the maternity ward and right into a delivery room. As we were wheeled by the nurses station, some of the nurses said to me, "Honey, why did you wait so long?" I was apparently really far along in my labor, and they could see that. I was dilated to a 10; I was SO ready to go! And I could feel it.

At that point, more nurses were recruited. They were frantic, almost, trying to get everything ready for me to deliver a baby. Dr. Tuso was called in. Mom almost didn't make it. She drove separately, and she had to go back to the house to retrieve my purse and bag. I think she barely made it in time to see me deliver. I pushed a few times, and baby girl came right out! It was so hard there at the end. I kept saying I couldn't do it, even though she was already coming out.

She was born, and they immediately put her onto my stomach and started cleaning her off.  Daniel got to cut the cord.

It was a thrilling birthing experience. It was so hard, and I hadn't expected it to go so fast or for me to endure it without drugs. From the time I started labor to when she was born was less than 6 hours (compared to 20+ with Brooke); and from the time we got into the delivery room to when she was born was 20 minutes. I did all of my laboring at home, so by the time we got to the hospital, it was far too late and kind of pointless to get an epidural. I'm glad it happened that way. It was so much better laboring at home than in a hospital. I think it worked out perfectly.  Such a different experience than when Brooke was born. So much better. I can actually say that as much as anyone can enjoy the labor process, I enjoyed it. And when she came out, it was just so much more special. They put her onto me immediately, and I got to hold and cuddle my baby only a few minutes after she was born. And after I got to be with her for a little bit, they asked if they could take her and do all the things they do: weigh her, give her that first little shot, etc. It was so wonderful!

And here she is . . . 

Leslie's ready to have a baby . . .

Today is the baby's due date and Leslie is ready to go!  Her mom arrived yesterday so we even have the help here too!  Leslie and I went to a doctor appointment today and it went well.

Here are some fun pictures of Leslie since we haven't been taking many this pregnancy.