ITS A GIRL!!

On December 29th at 6:13 am we welcomed Claire Elizabeth to our family! She weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19.5 in long. She is just perfect and we are excited to be bringing in the new year by spending our first night home as a family of four.

So here's how it all went down...K and I were watching the Bears game in bed on Monday night when my water broke around 10pm. We called my parents and my dad came over to stay with Layna as we headed off to the hospital. We had to go to the evaluation unit to confirm that my water did infact break. Although it was very busy, they found me a room by about 11:30 pm. I was having contractions about every 5 minute and decided to get the epidural around 1:30am. Everything went well and I was glad that they didnt hit spinal fluid the way they had with Layna. At 3am the nurse confirmed that I was still at 2 cm and so they decided to start pitocin. By 5 am I was 7 cm..and 10 minutes later...yes...10 minutes..I was COMPLETE at 10 cm! The nurse quickly called the Dr. Alhering (who was the Dr on-call) and he barely made it in time. Once he arrived I push for about 10 minutes and Claire was born at 6:13 am. The nurse kept saying that the baby had lots of hair..so Karl and I were ready to see a black haired baby again...but to our surprise..she had beautiful reddish blond hair!

When Karl announced 'Its a GIRL' we were both so excited! I had a strong feeling all throughout the pregnancy that this was another girl and I was completely thrilled when my instincts were confirmed. I never had a sister growing up and I am so excited to raise two girls and experience the connection and bond between sisters.

I am feeling pretty good and Claire is doing great. She is nursing really well and is so tiny and sweet. Layna has been a wonderful big sister!! She calls her 'my baby' and wants to help in every way possible. Although we are a little overwhelmed by the idea of two kids at home now..we are blessed beyond belief to have these two beautiful girls!

Christmas!!

This Christmas was probably the most crazy/fun Christmas I have ever had! We attended church on Christmas Eve and then went back to the Zim's for some pizza. Christmas morning Layna was up at 5:30 and I think Karl was just as wired as she was so we began opening presents by 6:15. Watching Layna open her presents from Santa was a BLAST! She had been asking for a dollhouse for months and was so adorable when opening it. We then headed out to Karl's sisters house because Kurt and Bev got in town around 8:30. We enjoyed a nice breakfast (Thanks Sheri!) and then went to pick up G and G Fry. From then on we spent the day at Zim's for presents and an extended family party. We didnt get home until almost 8pm last evening. We were all exausted but had an awesome Christmas!! I thought Christmas when I was a KID was fun...but having kids of your own tops the cake! Cant wait till next year when I will have TWO to enjoy!

Micah and Mal's Baptism

We were finally able to meet the Klug twins this past week!! Layna loved playing with the babies and we had a great time visiting with Billy and Rachel. We were also honored to be asked to be Malorie's Godparents. We had a wonderful time at the baptism and cant wait to see them again soon.

36 Week Pics

So these pics were taken last week but I think you get the picture...The last pics I took with Layna were at 36 weeks so this will probably be it from here on out! I made it past Christmas as of yesterday- so Baby Nelson #2 can come ANY TIME NOW!!

Christmas with G & G Nelson

While in Chicago we were able to celebrate Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Nelson. We had a wonderful dinner at a nice steak house and then came back home to see that Santa had come! Layna had so much fun opening presents- some of her favs were Thomas the Train, a frog drawing pad and new jammies! We will miss the fun with all of the other cousins on Christmas Eve but were glad to have our own Christmas celebration over Thanksgiving! Grandma and Grandpa Nelson will also be traveling to St Louis on Christmas morning this year so we are super excited to see them in the morning before heading to the Zimmermans!

Im still feeling well..just Big, Tired, and Uncomfortable!! I still feel like Baby Nelson #2 will wait until after the New Year to make his/her appearace..but we shall see! Im hoping the excitement of the holidays keeps me busy enough to forget that I am 9 mo preggo!!

I

Thanksgiving/Black Friday!!

We had a great time this year in Chicago for Thanksgiving! It was the last time I was able to travel and we were grateful to spend 4 days with the Nelson Family. We also broke a new record for departure time on Black Friday- 3:15 am!! The craziest part is that I was awake and ready to go shortly after midnight!! I guess something about being pregnant and knowing I was waking up at 3 to go shopping caused me lack of sleep that evening. The first pic is for scrapbooking purposes only..to actually prove that YES I did still go shopping on Black Friday- even though I was as big as a HOUSE!!