Learning starts early....

My cousin, Mikaila, is such a great reader!

We made it home!

We have had a busy two days! Here are some things we have done so far...

Friday we got to come home. We got everything in the hospital room packed up, including Laela in the carseat. She didn't even make a peep when I put her in. Laela did awesome in the car. She slept the entire way, even though her cheeks jiggled on every bump!

We made it home safely and daddy is taking Laela out of the carseat. We showed her around the house and she seemed to like it.

Here is her first diaper change at the house. One of her new favorite spots is the changing table. Laela seems to love her new room (especially the wall color and design.)

Our first night consisted of sleeping and eating. Overall, Laela adjusted very well. She seems to be almost close to perfect, which scares me for when she gets older...we may have our hands full! I woke up several times, just to check to make sure she was still breathing. Ro, on the other hand, had a little more difficult time. He is so tired, so I tried to let him sleep through some. When he did wake up, he is such an awesome dad. He really is gentle with Laela and he truly loves to just sit and hold her.

After a good night of sleeping and feeding, we decided to take our first family walk and Laela's first stroller ride. Again...she slept through it, but had a wonderful time!

Laela has some very interesting faces. Here is one of my favorite..."I was just fed and now I am happy" faces.

Some Laela Pictures!

Taking pictures has been quite enjoyable with a new baby! Here are a handful of them from the last couple of days!

Mom and baby are both doing great! I now have THREE beautiful ladies to share a home with.....Allie, we haven't forgotten about you.

Can't wait to go home tomorrow! Even though the hospital stay has been great, nothing beats sleeping in your own bed.

Its a Girl!.....With lots of Hair!

Since Kelli is working on recovering (And hopefully sleeping), and since I can't stop thinking about our baby, I figured it would be a good time to get some writing done. I know Kelli will be writing a blog describing her experience but I figured I would provide a few updates!

Ok, Ok, I will jump right into the good stuff! At 7:05pm on June 24th, Kelli gave birth to Laela, our 7 lb., 20 in healthy baby. I will spare the details but Kelli wound up going the C-section route so she will have a slightly longer recovery time than she expected. Her goal was to make it to some Thursday night party but those plans may have changed! But overall, Kelli is recovering well. For me, I had a really cool day. Cool is a slight understatement. I learned a little more about medicine, which is always fascinating. I saw my wife battle through alot of pain without yelling out one explictive! I sent and received over 100 text messages and phone calls, combined. I hope everyone I called has Verizon! And finally, I saw the birth of my baby girl. There are certain moments in life that you wish you could store somewhere and replay them over and over again. Before today, it was my wedding day. Before that was the time I had my first pizza roll from Old Chicago.....ok, just kidding on that one.........mmmmm, pizza rolls.

If I could replay our baby being born, I would hit rewind over and over again. I fell in love the instant I saw her. It was the weirdest/most amazing feeling I have ever felt. I dont get swept up in the moment very often but last night was an exception. I know people keep saying that having a baby is alot of work,time, commitment, etc. I am sure its going to be all of the above and more but it will be definetly worth the time and effort.

Below are some pictures of Laela. She has some BIG eyes and lots of black hair!!! What a cutie.

More pics and post to follow in the upcoming days.

Also, thanks to everyone who called, texted, visited, cried (Yes, there were some tears shed!), etc. We really really appreciate all of the support and help. It was a really great day for everyone involved.

Oh yes....

We are still missing Allie Mae! She will hopefully return home on Friday. :)

This is it!

Okay friends...this is it! Here is our plan: We have our pre-admission hospital appointment at 1:00 pm today. We will go in fill out paperwork and take a little blood. Then, we are off to the regular doctor for a sono and last check at 2:45 pm. Finally, we have to be at the hospital at 8:00pm for check-in. They are going to start the induction process. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I am hoping for a fast delivery! We will make phone calls and post pictures as soon as possible! Laela...we are coming in to get you, so get ready for this crazy world!

Summer Camp...

Ro dropped off Allie this morning. He decided to start calling it "summer camp" rather than training. I don't know if it is for the dog's sake or his own. Before packing her bag in the car, Ro had a serious talk with her. It was quite humorous! (I have to tell you first, Allie has a $50 monthly allowance for food, treats, toys, medicine, etc)

Ro said..."Allie you are going to summer camp today! You better learn something and be a good listener. Do you know that this is costing you 10 months worth of allowance! Do you have any coupons?" At that point, I burst into laughter...I couldn't help it.

We hope for her to come back a changed girl and adjust to the changes that are going to happen while she is gone. We miss you already Allie Mae!

Week #39

Didn't think that I would make it this far, but Laela is still baking! Doctor says that there is still no change. DARN! I did mention to the doc that my body has felt different and the baby didn't seem to move as much these last 4 or 5 days. She decided to hook me up to heartrate monitors for 20 minutes and then do a sono. Of course...baby is fine! There are plenty of fluids and she weighs in at 6lbs 9oz. (Hmmmm...I don't know how accurate that really is, but it makes me hopeful that she is not going to come out a giant!)

As far as everything goes, we are set-up to check-in at the hospital on Monday, June 23rd at 8:00 pm. They will start medicine to soften my cervix and hopefully the labor process if I have not already started naturally. Then...Laela may be joining us on Tuesday, June 24th...her expected date...NO EARLIER, NO LATER. I haven't decided if she is going to be stubborn or timely. Hmmmmm...can't wait to meet her!

Week #38...

Today is week #38. We went to the doctor and there are still no changes. Baby's heart rate is 150 and she is movin and groovin. Any day now!!!

Last time...

I promise...this is the LAST room update! I am very excited about how it turned out and I think we are finally ready to go. The only other thing that will fit in there is our little baby girl! Here are the final pics before she arrives. (Hmmmm...is that really the paint color I want? HA!)