Layla Claire

I went to my doctors appointment on September 8 which was one day before my due date, with the intention of insisting my doctor start me the next day.  After my exam she said she would call the hospital to schedule my induction, but that it probably wouldn't happen until Monday.  I was so disappointed, in fact I was down right pouting after she left the room.  When the nurse came back she asked if I could be at the hospital at 3:00 that afternoon, my jaw literally dropped and my mind went blank.  That was not the answer I was expecting!  We hurried home with only four short hours until we needed to be back at the hospital.  Derek wrapped everything up at work, I arranged a babysitter for the kids for the night, vacuumed, and started the dishwasher.  We hurried off to Allee's school to tell her the good news, and let her know that our great friend Sonya would be picking her up and she and Pierce would be spending the night there.  I gave her and Pierce big hugs and kisses, realizing this was the last time I was going to have two kids, and we were off to meet our little girl.

By the time we checked in it was 4:00.  The doctor broke my water at 5:15, and around 6:30 I was asked if I wanted my epidural now because the anesthesiologist was going in to do an appendectomy.  I had only felt a few contractions, but there is no way I was going to miss getting my epidural!  It was THE BEST epidural EVER!  Around 8:00 I was started on a pitocin drip, and went from 5 cm to 10 cm by 9:00.  The doctor came in and our sweet baby girl was born at 9:24 pm.

I had told Derek right before she was born that if she had blond hair then she would be Emme, but if she had dark hair then she was definitely Layla.  I had dreams of holding a little brunette baby girl we called Layla last November.  They were so vivid, so real, I knew that baby girl was coming to our family.

Sure enough, she has LOTS (by our standards!) of dark hair.  Welcome to the world

Layla Claire

 7 lbs. 11 oz.  19 1/2 inches

 Meeting Pierce, who couldn't get enough of her.  He says her name, "Aya"

 The proud big sister.  Allee couldn't be more proud.

 Getting ready to come home.  Aahh. . . . the adventures that await us!

For now I am just enjoying every second of this little peanut.  I can't put her down, and I feel so blessed to have this sweet spirit in our family.

Kiddos

Since Derek gave me an awesome new camera for my birthday, I figured it was time to test it out.  A few days before Allee began 1st grade, we got her all dressed up in her first day outfit and went out and about Clinton.  I really miss having professional pics of my kids, and since there isn't anyone really here, I figured I would give it my best shot.
I think they turned out pretty good for a first timer, and they can't be any worse then school pictures right?!
These two are my world.  I love them so much and feel so blessed to have these little personalities that some days make me want to pull my hair out and others keep me laughing all day long.

Impatient

I am officially 38 1/2 weeks and more impatient about this little girls arrival than I ever thought I would be.  I don't know if it is just the logistics of pawning off our other two or what, but I am on pins and needles wondering when things are going to start happening.  Perhaps it is the fact that I have been induced with my other two.  Maybe it is the worry that I won't know labor when it hits.  I really can't put my finger on it, but none the less I am IMPATIENT. 
The thing I keep reminding myself is
1.  Newborns don't sleep, and I REALLY like sleep.
2. She doesn't make any noise in my tummy.
3. I love to feel those kicks and squirms, it is the best part of being pregnant
4. I have two amazing kids, and what is my life going to be like throwing another into the mix.  I only have 2 hands!
And yet, here I am thinking about labor, wondering if my doc will induce me next week just so I can stop driving myself crazy, and most of all getting excited to see, smell, hold, and snuggle this new little girl.

One Last Getaway

Our plan for a weekend away was to go to a Cardinal's game in St. Louis on Saturday, spend the night, and visit a few sites on Sunday. Unfortunately our plans came to a hault when Derek realized that the tickets were for the following Saturday. We had already booked our hotel and it was non-refundable, so we decided to make the best of it and have one last getaway anyway! Allee starts school on the 24th and I am due in 2 weeks, so this was the perfect opportunity for some quality family time just the 4 of us.
Our first stop was the Old Spaghetti Factory. It is one of Derek's favorite places to eat, and we hadn't been there in years. It didn't disapoint. After a bumpy ride on an old cobblestone road, we enjoyed slurping pasta across the street from the arch.
St. Louis Science Center:
Our next stop was to the science center. The coolest part here was the overpass. You can look out at the city, use radar guns to see how fast cars are going, and they have holes in the floor so you can see the passing traffic.
Pierce loved the dinosaures. The T-rex would move and sort of growl as it stood over it's prey, a triceratops. But not to worry, Pierce informed us that he saw the triceratops move, so therefore it is only sleeping.

The Fudgery:

Where we literally sang for our fudge! They have awesome demonstrations, and it's fun how you get to sing and get harrassed just for some free fudge. Of course one bite wasn't going to satisfy anyone in our family, we ended up spending $27 in fudge, but oh . . . . it was totally worth it!

Later that night Derek took the kids swimming and we just enjoyed hanging out in our hotel room.

Grant's Farm

This was the perfect attraction for our little family. Not truly a "farm" in the sense I know farms, but a great place to see some deer, elk, birds, kangaroos, and everyone's favorite feeding the goats.
You can buy a bottle of milk and take it into the goat pen and feed the little goats. There are about 50 goats, and we got there first thing in the morning. The goats were all over us trying to get some milk. The kids loved it! Derek and I couldn't stop laughing. Goats were climbing up him, up Allee, and trying to eat our shorts. Eventually we got a few singled out and were able to feed them. Pierce LOVED the goats and kept giving them hugs. It was definately the highlight of the day.

The famous Anheiser-Bush Clydesdales. They have about 6 adults at the farm and 4 or 5 little ones. They are amazing to see up close and so huge!

Fits's:

Our last stop was Fitz's. We were able to watch them bottle grape soda, and then we enjoyed delicious food! Burgers, fries, and homemade rootbeer and cream soda. It was such a fun place to experience!

Worlds of Fun

For Schreiber Food's summer party we went to Worlds of Fun, and amusement park in Kansas City. We were so lucky that morning we had a great rainstorm which helped cool the day off considerably. Which means the high was only 98 + humidity instead of the scorching 115 degree temps we had the week before. Unfortunately for me being 34 weeks pregnant, I wasn't able to ride anything, I just got to walk around, sweat, and watch my family enjoy themselves!

Jadyn, Pierce, and Allee. Pierce loved Planet Snoopy and would give each character a big hug. He is exactly 36 inches which is how tall you have to be to ride all the kids rides. He was in heaven. He would go on ride after ride and want to do it again and again.

Allee's big moment. This year she was tall enough to ride all but 2 of the adult rides. I convinced her to try this ride with Derek and our friend Beth, she got to almost the front of the line and came back down, but after some prodding and assuring her that she would love it, she finally got back in line. You can see the trepidation in her face!

Off they went, and she loved every minute! As soon as she got off the ride I was waiting by the gate and she was begging to do it again. That's my girl! Derek and I were very proud of her courage and so happy that she was willing to try new things.