42 Weeks

No wonder I had such a big belly!!! :)

**Poor Chloe, I didn't realize her hat was down over her eyes. :P

Look at me!! I'm 1 week old!!

Day Number 5

Daddy got me all lotioned and dressed

I got to meet more of my favorite people...

Cousin Emily...

(I already met Aunt April on the day I was born,

but she missed me and needed to come get another "Chloe Fix")

Cousin Cambria...

Uncle Alan...

Cousin Ryker....Guess who's older....we were born the same day!!

Ryker was born around 2 in the morning tho so he's older.

Great Grandma Linford
Other visitors that day: Uncle Adam, Aunt Melissa (Ryker's parents), Aunt Julie, Cousin Dalton, Cousin Lindy, Cousin Alex, Grandma and Grandpa Dalton, Great Grandma Grace, Uncle Johnny

Chloe tells all about her 3rd and 4th Days:

I'm 3 Days Old:

Daddy changing my diaperI met my older cousin Milo and his mom,

my favorite Aunt Amber.

Milo is almost exactly 2 months older than I am.

But guess what?! He was only a bit longer,

although he definitely had more meat on his bones. :)

I slept the whole time, so I guess I'll have to get to know Milo another day.

I'm 4 Days Old:

I was getting ready for my first outing

...it's hard work

...had to stop and rest. :)My big sister Molly loves to help take care of me any chance she gets...

She helped Daddy give me my first bath at home...

I didn't like the bath very much...

but I felt much better once they took me out and put me in that nice warm towel!!

...I'm so lucky to have such a cool big sister!!All ready to go....

My 1st Outing: Getting my biliruben tested.

(Note: Mommy had never heard of biliruben.

When the hospital doctor told us we had to get my biliruben level checked,

Mommy thought: "Who's Billy Ruben?!? And what does he have to do with my baby?!")

P.S. My biliruben level was down when they tested it!!

I got to meet my favorite Aunt Maria...
And my favorite Great Grandma Grace...
I'm named after her!! Then I got to hang out with my favorite Grandpa Jan!!

Ahhhh....I'm SO loved!!!

Chloe' Bird Call

During Chloe's first week of life she made the cutest little bird call sound. Usually it was a prelude to her cry (which was equally cute to me...and still is) like in this little clip that Rob took of her, and sometimes it was just a sound she'd make. I'm so glad he caught it because she's already grown out of it!! I can't believe she's 2 weeks old and she's already grown and changed!! :(

Chloe's Birth Story: Picture Version

Talking to Gretchen, my midwife, and putting in my first 20 minutes on the "machines"

After taking a walk around the maternity ward and trying to figure out when/how long the contractions were...without much success. :-/

We never were able to measure them.

(When I was at about 8 cm my sister started unofficially trying to track what she saw because that's about the time the contractions got a bit more intense,

but by that time I was too distracted to focus on timing). Spending some time on the ball...the ball is part of what saved me from a cesarean!!!

Thanks to Claire Stanely!!!!Support for my support.

We asked my sister, April, to come be the photographer/videographer of Chloe's birth.

She ended up doing much more than that as Rob realized that he needed support in his role of support. :) This ended up being one of my most preferred ways to deal with a contraction (but towards the end April and my mom took turns pushing on the pressure points on my lower back, which helped immensely, and Rob couldn't do it because I was holding onto him) :)She actually came out!!!

I kept saying between pushes: "I don't think she'll come out". :-/

We were both exhausted!!!

She was so quiet and alert.They had to take her and clean out her mouth because she was turning blue. Being weighed.

She didn't like being meddled with by all the medical staff!Holding Daddy's hand in the bassinet...I wish it weren't blurry. :-/Another darn nurse poking and prodding...at least she had daddy to hold her and make it better!!Her footprints.

Being admired by daddy and papa.Grandma and Papa adoring their second new grandchild of the day!!!Saying thanks to Aunt April for all her help!!
Cuddle time with Daddy

Grandma and Grandpa came to meet their precious new granddaughter.
Getting to know each other

First time in the car seat, getting ready for her first car ride...

Heading Home!!!Chloe's first size picture...2 days old.

Chloe Grace:

joined our family on her due date, Dec 29th at 11:50 p.m.

8 lbs 9 oz

22 inches long

Ben's First Time To Attend the Temple

Ben got to go do baptisms at the temple for his very first time last month on November 28!! Rob and I went with him to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and it was a day I've long looked forward to and it didn't disappoint! It actually turned out to be much more meaningful than I had ever imagined it would be!

We went on a Saturday while Rob's parents were working their Saturday shift. We thought it would be really cool if his dad was working his shift in the baptistry when we were there but we didn't anticipate that actually happening. When we got there, we asked if Ben could do baptisms, if I could watch, and if Rob could help, they said certainly. There were several groups ahead of us so we spent a while waiting for our turn, 45 minutes to an hour. It didn't seem long though, it was a really peaceful, serene time for the three of us to sit together, thinking, pondering and quietly talking about the significance and symbolism of baptism and the temple. At one point I was thinking about how happy I was to be there in the temple sitting between two of my favorite men and I think Ben was touched by the same spirit because he put his arm around my shoulders and said some really sweet things to me. After that I just couldn't stop the tears!! It was such a happy day, Ben was a little perplexed by my tears until I told him that they were tears of happiness. :)

When it was our turn for Ben to do baptisms, we were pleasantly surprised to see Rob's dad, Ben's grandpa, working in the baptistry!! Rob got to baptize Ben and I got to hand them towels when they got out. :)

Ben told me that he thought we should go to the temple every Saturday. He's such a special kid!!

A fun visit with Peggy and Rhea

We had so much fun visiting with Peggy and Rhea when they came to stay with us.

One highlight was the night Molly and I got to babysit Rhea while Peggy took Paula to see "A Christmas Carol."

We gave her a bath when she got a little sad, missing her mom, but, as you can probably tell by her wide-eyed looks and solemn face, I think she was a little weirded out by the conspicuous substitution of Molly and I for her Mom in this daily ritual. :P

There were lots of other fun things about Peggy's visit...you can read about some of them if you have access to her blog. :)

38 Weeks....2 more to go....or less...f/c

Look at that big ol' belly!!

• The bassinet is all ready, my mom finished making the bumper pad for it tonight.
• Her bag is packed for the hospital is in the bassinet. It's been packed for a while since she doesn't need to use all the stuff right now. :P
• Mine and Rob's bag just got packed this weekend except for a few things like our camera/charger, etc.
• Going to see my midwife tomorrow and have 3 questions to ask her:

1. Do we need to register at the hospital (fill out any paperwork)? because I've heard/read that registering ahead of time is standard but we haven't been asked to do that, or sent anything yet. :-/
2. When does Gretchen (our midwife) want us to call her? (ie. when active labor starts, or when we're actually on our way to the hospital, etc.)
3. Which pediatricians does she recommend?