Great Grandma Carmela's 100th Birthday

On July 22nd (her actual birthday is the 24th) we got to celebrate our Great Grandmothers 100th birthday.  This lady is amazing!  She still has a fiery personality for being 100 years old.  She is an amazing woman and has accomplished so much in her life.  Starting off by bringing her family here from Italy.  I was excited but a little nervous to take Siena to her birthday party, but I could not pass it up.  This is a very rare occasion.  I wanted to get a picture of her with our whole family.  It was fun to see her legacy.  

Izzy and Avery of course wanted to be outside and play in and around the water.  Here are a few pictures of the cute girls. 

Siena's Birth Day

It started early the morning of July 10th Nate and I got ready and headed to the hospital to be induced one week before my actual due date.  I have to say that I really enjoyed that.  Since I am such a planner it was nice to have everything in order and done just the way I wanted.  Nate was feeling very anxious the day prior and I really didn't have any nervous feelings or anxiety until they were about to do the IV.  The process started at about 7:45 am with the pitocin to start regular contractions and we were off.  Thing went very smooth.  I labored until about 12:45 then asked for the epidural before my water was going to be broken.  They were so fast before I could think twice about it the doctor was in and preparing me for the epidural.  Luckily I had an amazing nurse that was there for me the entire time.  Because Nate went a little pail and nervous about the epidural (he doesn't do well around needles) so I gave him permission to leave and grab some lunch while they were doing it.  He was quickly relieved and headed out of the room as fast as he could.  While he was gone they got me all set up, and as soon as I got repositioned back in bed she wanted to check my progress, and while doing so my water broke.  It was all really good timing.  At that time I was hoping that things would go super fast and I would be done in 2 hours or less....  Wishful thinking.  Although things continued to progress it wasn't as fast as I had hoped.  I at this point in time was starving and suffering from a headache and nausea and was ready to be done with the process.  They came in and decided to do internal monitoring on the baby to monitor the contractions with more accuracy.  After getting set up they told me that my contractions could be stronger so they upped the pitocin to push things along.  Sure enough that did the trick.  Shortly after I was dilated to a 10 and ready to go!  Once again my delivery was so easy.  It was funny because the doctor just sat at the bottom of the bed chatting it up with Nate about our video camera for the first 5 minutes waiting for the pediatric nurse to arrive.  As soon as she was there I pushed a total of three times and Siena was here.  She was absolutely perfect!  I could not have asked for anything better. I got to enjoy her first moments in life up close and personal.  I loved every moment of her crying and me crying, and Nate crying.  We got to snuggle her and talk to her and take in this very special moment in life.  

(As a side note we seem to always have some sort of technical difficulty when it comes to taking pictures.  With Izzy we for got the nice camera, and with Siena our nice camera would not focus automatically so a lot of our pictures are blurry.  Sad but oh well)

When the took us to our post pardom room Nate got to give Siena her first bath.  It was nice that I was there to watch.  Big sister was also there, but she didn't want anything other than mommy.  So she just sat in my lap and played with the Ipad.  We struggle getting her to take a decent picture, but she was also going through a lot as well so I didn't push it.  

I am so happy to be the mother of two healthy, happy, and very good girls.  I am so blessed.  Siena has been a very good eater from the beginning and has passed all of her test with flying colors.  So after the 24 hours at the hospital we wanted to come home and start settling in.  Not to mention you don't really get to rest at the hospital.  They are always coming in to check on me or her every hour to two hours.

And Now There Are FOUR!

I would like to introduce the newest member of our family.

Siena Clara Durbano

Arrived 7-10-2012 @ 4:56 pm

Weighing 6 lbs 6 ozs & 19 inches long

She is healthy and a very good baby.  (I will post more soon)

Time is Slipping Away...

Man I cannot believe how fast these last nine months have gone by.  Izzy is growing and gaining a huge personality everyday, and baby sister will be here in less than 9 days.  I have tried to slow down the last few weeks and enjoy Izzy knowing full well that life is about to change again.  Not an east task for a OCD nester like myself.  I am excited about this new change, but also a little nervous.  I want to make this new chapter in life a smooth transition for Izzy.  Luckily I have an amazing support system that is more than happy to help in anyway possible.  I love my family!  

Last week I made a quick trip up to Idaho to take on the task of making the babys crib bedding.  I have to pat myself on the back because I did it!!  It looks so cute and I managed to get it all done with the help of my mom (Thanks Mom).  I will post pictures shortly I have to do the finishing touchs to her room.  

While I was in Idaho I begged my dad to take some Maternity pictures with me and Izzy.  I have not been very good at documenting this belly so I wanted to make sure that I got some pictures of the end result of this pregnancy.  Dad you did a great job and Thank you for all of your love and support.  

 

I have not gotten as big with this girl as I did with Izzy.  I thank Izzy for that.  She has kept me on my toes and going.  I am chasing her around almost all day long, and I love it!  We do have our moments where mommy is done by the end of the day and daddy gets to rescue her.  Not that Izzy would complain at all about daddy time.  She loves her daddy!  The moment the door opens at night she runs and gives him lots of loves then begins to flop herself around in his arms motivating him to toss her around.  She will chase him around the house and he'll chase her right back.  I love to hear that little squeal as she is running as fast as her little legs will carry her.  

Next time you hear from me our new addition will be here!  I can't wait to meet this little one!

 

Easter 2012

I love this holiday. I has such a wonderful meaning to it. It means more to me now that I have a family of my own. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for me. So I could live with my precious family for all Eternity.

This Easter was so beautiful. The weather was perfect very warm and refreshing. I was excited this year since Izzy is getting to the age where she is more understanding of things. Our day started out with a small egg hunt. She figured it out but would get distracted. It was still cute to see her. We then took her into see what the Easter Bunny had left. She was spoiled this year. She got a play kitchen that she LOVES!! She also got a fun shopping cart and Lego's from Mimi and Grandpa. She found the Lego's hiding in the closet before Easter and pulled them out and was relentless about the being opened. Needless to say she has been enjoying them all week. Perfect for this little munchkin.

After we relaxed and got ready for church. It was such a great day to enjoy the spirit.

Then we got to go enjoy family time with the Durbano's. I have some of the best in-laws possible. I love to spend time enjoying all of their company. We had a yummy turkey dinner and cupcakes. Izzy got spoiled by her Grandma and Grandpa Durbano too. Lots of love from them as well. She loved the bubble gun! I have to keep it out of sight or she would have me doing bubbles all day long.

We also had a fun Adult Easter egg hunt at dusk. Izzy and Avery kept Doug and Shawna busy chasing them around while we hunted for the eggs. It was a blast. I love having such wonderful family. I am truly blessed.

Friday we colored eggs with Shawna, Natalie, and Avery. It was fun, but very destructive with the little ones. We only salvaged half of the eggs after all was said and done. Izzy loved smashing them in her hands and dropped them a few times. It was fun to do anyway.