Emma loves being on her tummy! Tonight she was lifting up her chest and turning her head back and forth...and moving her arms and legs all over like she was trying to crawl! She's on an advanced physical development program! :) One of the pictures was a face plant after she lifted her head!
We're having so much fun with another little girl! Camilla especially loved picking out her clothes for today!!!
Camilla and Alex were big helpers during Emma's first bath...they both helped to get her clean with their little washcloths. Alex was in charge of her feet. It was so fun to share that experience with them!!!
Zach has been milking the status of "birthday boy" for quite a while...most recently he has been convincing people to play "his" rules of the game Sorry. I don't know if I've seen him this excited before - he couldn't stop smiling whenever we mentioned turning 6. He's really into spiderman right now...so he had a spiderman cake, party, etc. The pictures are from when he found his new fishing pole after treasure hunt to find it, having his cake and ice cream, and making "spiders" at his party.
Ever since we've been home, Camilla has been picking out clothes for Emma to wear. Even here as
she is sleeping, Camilla has adorned her with a few accessories (tiger-print scarf and road runner bandana).
Noall and I seem much more excited than Emma does about going home...we have been so blessed during these last few days...everything has gone so smoothly!!! Noall's convinced that I like having babies naturally - my recovery has been so quick and Emma's doing great!
Emma has the chubbiest cheeks...big hands and feet w/long fingers and toes (and, of course, skinny little arms and legs)! I'm guessing the rest of her body with fill in as full as her cheeks pretty soon with her appetite!
Can you tell who's the most excited for the new baby??? They are all so sweet and tender with her! Zach is excited to be the biggest brother...Camilla is excited to have a little sister (we're already playing dress-up!)...and Alex is excited to have something (someone) smaller than him that he can hold and pet and kiss!
Early in the morning of June 20th (4 AM) I woke up to feel my water break...I was only four days late (I'm usually about 1 1/2 weeks...and then induced), so we weren't really expecting to go to the hospital quite yet. After an afternoon of mild contractions and then nothing, we went to the hospital to get labor started with some pitocin. At 6:30 PM, my contractions were regular...after an hour I asked for my epidural...but apparently I was already fully dilated and ready to push! So, our little bundle of joy was born at 7:39 PM! Beside going into labor on my own, having a whirlwind labor, and going natural, the other big surprise was that our new baby was a GIRL! We decided not to find out, but Noall was sure it was a boy, so that was kind of stuck in our heads (since he was right about the other kids!). So, now we have 2 boys and 2 girls...and the newest member is EMMA NOELLE (8 lbs. 10 oz. 20 1/2").
I love the soccer picture when Noall just scored against Zach...Noall's celebrating and Zach falls to the ground in mock disappointment...I also love how much Zach and Camilla enjoy just being with each other (they are watching the waves in the first picture) and how much Alex loves his Daddy (surfing w/him in the 2nd picture).
We all had lots of fun and got a little sun at "T Street" beach. Noall's been trying out surfing quite a bit lately and is getting up pretty consistently...the surf wasn't great when we were there, but we still all enjoyed a beautiful day at the beach! (Camilla loves getting COVERED in warm sand after she gets cold going out with Daddy on the surfboard).
Aunt Kate came to visit for a few days...the kids had so much fun!!! She and Noall went to a Kenny Chesney concert in San Diego, we swam at the pool, played soccer and ran around at the beach (Kate even tried surfing), watched Noall's softball game, and just hung out! It was a lot of fun! I love having one-on-one time with siblings without the running around that comes with the holidays and vacations. Thanks for coming, Kate! We miss you already!!!
