2 weeks old!

Our sweet Holland baby is 2 weeks old! Time has gone by fast and slow at the same time.  Holland has been a really good baby;  She has slept really well at night, and she doesn’t cry a lot.  She’s been quite the little eater too-she gained a pound in 2 weeks!  At her doctor’s appointment today she weighed 9 lbs 5 oz (78%) and was 22.5 inches long (98%).  She’s been growing a ton. Carly has warmed up to her a little better.  She still gets jealous if Casey or I am holding her but she’s getting used to the idea of having someone else in the family.  It is a lot of fun to have such a precious newborn baby around.  It’s a lot of work but since I know how fast babies grow up I’ve been trying to enjoy all the cuddle time I can get.  We love you baby Holland!

Side note: We just found out yesterday that we got an apartment.  We’ve been on a waiting list for a while and we came to the top and we’re moving next week!  I have mixed feelings about leaving my parent’s house.  I want to give my parent’s their house back but I know I’ll miss having them around.  Our new apartment has 3 bedrooms so it will be nice to move Holland into her own room!

Holland!

Our sweet Holland Estelle Green was born on Tuesday night (my due date) at 11:25.  She was 8 lbs 4 oz 19” long.  I wasn’t expecting to go into labor on my own and I was just waiting until I could get induced on Wednesday morning, but on Tuesday afternoon my water broke at 3:45.  I was so excited when it broke because I knew I wouldn’t have to be induced the next morning anymore!  My contractions started pretty quick after my water broke so we headed straight to the hospital.  I had to wait in a triage room for a couple of hours because they didn’t have any open rooms!  It was a crazy busy day to have a baby I guess. 

When a room finally opened up I was having even stronger contractions but I was still only 5 cm dilated.  I was pretty frustrated that I hadn’t progressed very much in those 2 hours.  I had to wait another hour to get an epidural because the anesthesiologist was way busy giving the other 20+ ladies epidurals.  Once I got the epidural I started getting really light headed and I almost passed out a few times because my blood pressure was so low.  So  I had to lay down on my side for the rest of the time.  At 10 p.m. the doctor checked me and I was only at 6 cm.  Then during the next hour I started feeling a lot of pressure from the contractions and the nurse checked me at 11 and I was ready to start pushing!  I pushed a couple of times and then Holland came right out. 

Holland has been such a good baby.  She is so sweet and doesn’t cry a lot.  Carly loves her most of the time.  I made the mistake of calling Holland sweetie while I changing her and Carly heard and said, “No mama I’m your sweetie!”  She got pretty mad and has been a lot more clingy to Casey instead of me.  Hopefully she’ll warm up more to me and Holland soon. 

I am so grateful for Casey he is an amazing birth coach!

My sister Brooke came along to be a part of the birth.  It was fun having her there to help and lighten the mood. 

They had flavored ice chips -you could add snow cone flavors to the ice!  They helped to keep me from passing out!

We were lucky to have a lot of people come visit us in the hospital:  The Bergeses, The Whiteleys, Our bishopric, The McNeils, and The Edgmons.

2 days left?!?!

I have only 2 days left until my due date.   This pregnancy has gone by very fast… except for the past 2 weeks which have dragged on and on and have seemed like 2 months!  I was honestly hoping that this little girl would do her mom a favor and come a week early but she’s just like her sister and wants to come late! 

This past week I went into the doctor twice because my Dr. wanted to strip my membranes and then check me a few days later to see if I could be induced on Monday.  I know my Dr. is nice to offer to induce me a day before my due date and I was a bit hesitant honestly but I am supposedly making enough progress already to be induced.  A few hours after I left the Dr. on Friday I got a call from a nurse saying that the hospital is booked Monday and Tuesday for inductions so I can’t be scheduled until Wednesday.  Which I know it isn’t that bad to have a baby one day late, but I had been planning on being induced on Monday for a week!  The nurse told me that the Dr. is pretty sure that I’ll have the baby before then anyway so it shouldn’t be a big deal, we’ll see…

I have been trying to enjoy all the one on one time I have left with Carly. She is at such a fun stage where she is always asking me how I’m doing and saying how much she loves me.  My favorite is when she says, “mommy, you’re my best friend ever!”   I can’t believe I’ll have two kids by Wednesday. I am so excited! 

The end is in sight!

4 more weeks until d-day!  Tomorrow I go in to the doctor and I’m hoping he’ll give me some good news like “I can guarantee this baby won’t come later than 39 weeks!”  I’m not counting on that at all but I can dream.  When I was pregnant with Carly my doctor told me at 36 weeks that she thought I would have Carly in the next 2 weeks because I was already dilated etc… I ended up having Carly a day late, and I was mad at my doctor!  This little baby girl will come whenever she wants and I’m fine with that!  I know how much I need to enjoy sleeping right now so I am enjoying it.  We are so excited to meet this new baby girl! 

We love Grandma

Carly gets so spoiled living with Grandma.  Grandma is always reading to her and playing the piano with her.  Carly even gets cuddles in bed with grandma and grandpa sometimes.  When I was little my mom would play me these exact songs and I would sit on her lap and sing with her.  I love hearing Carly sing a long with grandma it really brings tears to my eyes. 

Carly singing with grandma

Our Fourth of July

I love the Fourth of July in Provo.  There are so many fun celebrations going on.  On the Saturday before the 4th we went to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks by the Marriott Center. We used to always go the Stadium of Fire growing up but now that we all have kids we’ve opted out and gone for the alternative.  On the 4th we woke up early and went to the Provo parade which is the best around.  It was nice having my parents save us an awesome spot so we just had to show up and there was a place waiting for us!  After the parade we got together with my family for a picnic in the canyon, then we went home and took naps then we all got back together for more fireworks at my aunt and uncle’s house.

I debated whether I should put this picture up of me because I hate all pictures of my 9-month pregnant body but I figured I’d put it up for posterity’s sake.  Here’s part of our parade group before my sisters and their families got there.  Carly loves her great-aunt Ann, and wouldn’t leave her side. 

I couldn’t get a picture of Carly’s face during the parade because she was too mesmerized!

Carly adores her cousins.  She is always asking to play with them.  This is at the park where we had a picnic and I almost died of heat.  I can’t handle being outside in 98 degree weather, especially when I’m already hot all the time anyway!

Carly was a little scared of the ground fireworks we did at my aunt’s and uncle’s house, but Casey loved getting some cuddles out of her.

Chicago & Milwaukee

Savage Services, Casey’s company that he has been interning with, had an annual conference in Chicago this year.  We were lucky because we got invited even though Casey is just an intern.  It was an all-expense paid vacation for Casey and me.   Ann graciously offered to watch Carly for us while we were at the conference so we brought Carly along and Ann drove down from Milwaukee to pick her up at the airport.  After our 3 days in Chicago we went to Milwaukee to visit friends and pick up Carly. 

The first night we were in Chicago Casey and I went to a Cubs game.  Casey’s company reserved out 3639 Wrigley Rooftop.  So we got to sit on some covered bleachers (it was rainy) and watch the game.  At Wrigley Rooftop there are 6 different floors where you can watch the game.  On each floor there were different food items.  Let’s just say Casey and I tried out everything on all those floors. 

On Thursday morning all Savage employees had meetings so Savage gave all the spouses money to go shopping.  That afternoon we went to The University of Chicago to do a service project.  We put together bikes and tricycles for kids.  Casey competed in a bike race but got pushed over at the beginning by a violent competitor.  That night we went to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, which is the 2nd most visited place in Chicago (we were repeatedly told that).  Savage reserved out the entire museum for the company so we got to see a lot, and eat a lot. 

On our last day in Chicago  I went to some meetings with Casey in the morning and then we got to go to a private showing of the Blue Man Group.  Casey and I got pulled aside before the show and they asked us if we wanted to be in the show.  Of course we said yes, but I was afraid of what they were going to do with us because they wouldn’t tell us.  They ended up pretending like we were late and shined lights and laughed at us.  It was pretty funny.   That night we had an awards banquet and ate some more really good food.  And got to be apart of Savage’s “ring ceremony.”

On Saturday morning we took the Amtrak to Milwaukee, rented a car and then went to the Farrenkopfs to pick up Carly.  I was missing Carly a lot, but I knew she was having the time of her life being spoiled by Ann.  It was so fun seeing Carly so excited to see me.  She wouldn’t let go of me for a while and kept saying, “I missed my mommy.”  That afternoon the Callisters had a little party for us with some Kohl’s friends.  That evening we had another party with more friends hosted by the Farrenkopfs.  It was so fun to be back in Milwaukee.  Not much had changed in the year we’d been gone and it’s so fun still knowing where everything is.  It was especially fun seeing all our friends.  We have missed them so much. 

On Sunday we went to church and then flew home.  Here are some pics from the trip, I forgot my camera so my sweet friend Stephanie took a lot of pictures of us, but I haven’t gotten them from her yet.  Most of these pictures are from my phone so they’re a little blurry.

Carly did awesome on the flights.  She was so excited to fly on an airplane. 

At the Cubs game.

View from out hotel room.  We stayed in the theater district at the Renaissance.

While Casey and I were in Chicago Ann took Carly to the Zoo.  Karen went with them and brought Summer.  Carly had so much fun playing with Summer again!  (thanks Karen for the picture)

Casey in the bike race.  I was proud that he volunteered to do it in front of his entire company, and of course he didn’t care one bit.

We did a cool project where we were divided into groups, given a part of a picture, drew the picture on a poster board and then all the pictures were put together.  It was pretty awesome.

Our group’s part of the collage was the bottom right. There were four collages total of different pictures from the company. Casey actually drew most of our part of the collage.  Most people don’t know what a great artist Casey is (I’m totally serious)!

Casey’s favorite part of the Museum of Science and Industry:

Us with a Blue man,  he smelled kind of funky.

Our final dinner.  They had the ballroom decorated really cool.  It was fun.

The awesome homemade ice cream spread out Kohls friends put together, and underneath all of our sweet Lake Michigan ward friends.

Thanks so much to our sweet friends The Callisters who let us invade their home and stay with them.  We love you guys!

And the Farrenkopfs, Carly had the time of her life staying with them!