2 weeks old!

Well, today was my third day home alone with my two awesome daughters. Ryland has been such a big help with Natalie. I'm so proud of her. She is constantly kissing and hugging her, and immediately wants to see her when she wakes up in the morning. She can't wait for Natalie to play with toys and really interact with her.

Natalie is now 2 weeks old, and seems to be getting cuter and cuter. We have a doctor appointment on Tuesday, and I can't wait to know how much she is growing. She has been sleeping very well, and is a very good eater! It's already impossible to remember what life was like without her.

Videos

She's here!!

Introducing Natalie Taylor Cook. She was born on April 7, 2013 at 2:02 am by cesarean section. This "little" girl weighed a whopping 9 lbs 5 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. She caused a lot of trouble getting here, but has been an absolute angel at home. She is happy, sleepy and hungry. Now that she is here, it's as if she has always been here. Ryland is adjusting well to becoming a big sister. She has been helping with clothes, diapers, and has been giving Natalie lots of snuggles. Overall, this is a huge adjustment for all of us, but SO worth it. Today we are taking Natalie to her check up at the hospital, and Ryland is super excited to finally ride in the car with her. You can tell that Ryland feels pretty special being a big sister. We are proud of her for dealing with this process so well.

I love both my girls so so very much.

Pictures this week

Ryland and Aviley


Ryland insisted on taking a picture with me, her, and several of her toys.


Silly girl eating at Burgerville


A stack of chocolate chips Ryland made (...and was very proud of)


Aviley was taking pictures with my phone and caught this one of Ryland giving her dinosaur a check up


Giant 37 week belly...one can only hope this doesn't last too much longer :) We want to meet our new family member!!

Life

Sorry about the lack of posts recently...we've been busy with a baby shower, hanging out with friends, doctor visits, and much much more.

I'm now 36 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow. Which means I am one week away from being FULL TERM. Can't believe that I've made it to the home stretch. Only 4 more weeks or less! This has been a crazy journey for Champ, Ryland and I. We can't wait to meet baby Natalie. Ryland keeps talking about how much she plans on kissing and hugging her. It'll probably be a lot nicer than hugging my big belly :)

On a side note, Ryland got to the go to the zoo and children's museum this week. We had a blast, and even got to see a baby monkey and elephant. It was an amazing day with really nice weather. Ryland says her favorite animals there were the "kitties".

Family/Maternity pictures

Last week Champ, Ryland, Natalie and I all went to get some amazing family/maternity pictures taken. We luckily were graced with great weather! Ryland enjoyed being outside and showing off her silly smile with every snap of the camera. The pictures below are just a few "sneak peaks" from the photographer. They are just saved from my phone, so not the best quality. But! Have no fear, tomorrow we get to view all of our images, and we are so so excited.

















Pregnancy updates:
I am almost 33 weeks pregnant, and cannot wait to meet this squirmy little girl. She is definitely a dancer. We had a growth scan at 30 weeks, and she checked out right on track. This girl is definitely getting bigger, and so is her mom! It's getting hard to turn over in bed, and even harder to get out of bed. Just 4 more weeks and we will be considered full term! Who knows when she will decide to make her appearance though :) She's due April 12th!

This was Ryland yesterday. She carried Barney around in that backpack for about an hour, while also tending to her "baby", Cat in the Hat.


Relaxing after a long day of playing. She was watching a movie, and sat like that on the couch almost the whole time. Pretty cute!


Kissing baby Natalie! I'm now 30 weeks pregnant and I cannot wait to meet this little one. Ryland will be so happy to finally hold her baby sister!


Pretending to sleep next to dada...


My sweet little girl playing in her room. I just can't get enough of her sweetness.