A Birthday Surprise!

We had planned a small party for Campbell on the 19th to celebrate his 2nd birthday. Since Harper came early and we did not know when we were coming home, unfortunately, we had to cancel the party. We celebrated his birthday at the hospital instead with Papa and Grandma. He also got to meet his little sister. I am hoping he will consider her the best present he has ever received.

I'm 2!

How sweet is this!

My sweet children:)

Harper is here!

Harper's Birth Story:

On Tuesday night I started having a few light contractions. They stopped after a few hours so I didn't think anything about it. I went back to sleep and woke up the next morning and went to school as usual. I guess I looked really tired because my co-teacher said I needed to go to the doctor and get checked. After much convincing I decided to call and see if they could see me now instead of the next day for my 38 week appointment. Since the next day was Cam's birthday, I thought it would work out better anyway.

When I got to the doctor at 10:45, I told them I was not crying wolf. I knew I was not in labor, just wanted to get my appointment over with. Well, I was wrong! I was 4 centimeters dilated and in active labor. What??? I didn't even have a bag packed. I wanted to go home and get settled but my midwife told me I needed to go straight over to the hospital instead. No time to pack!

I called Matt and he freaked out a little. He thought I was joking:). I called my sister and she went to our house to pack me up. We called the grandparents to come get Cam. Then I called my mom. After all the calls were made I headed to the hospital. Matt got there in record time, they gave me an epidural, and checked me again. It was now close to 1:00. I was 6 centimeters dilated. It was going way too fast! I didn't feel like I was ready for her to leave my body.

Apparently she didn't take my feelings into account because she was ready to come. At 3:30 I was ready to push. I pushed 3 times and Harper Ellen Stell came into this world at 3:55 sunny side up and crying:). She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 and 3/4 inches long. SHE WAS BEAUTIFUl!

I was truly blessed to have such an easy labor and delivery.

Still in Shock:)

It's Time

Ready or Not... Here I Come!

So Small!

All Cleaned Up

Daddy's in Love!

Aunt Nickole's Turn

Nana Getting Her Hands on the Sweet Girl

Showered with Love!

My sister and some of my very sweet friends put together a shower for Baby Harper. It was the sweetest day filled with lots of good friends, family, food, and some of the cutest gifts for Harper. I was truly overwhelmed with everyone's kindness. This girl is going to be the best dressed newborn in town:).

Tamra, Nickole, Emily, Anna, and I

How pretty was this?

The Grandmas

Aunt Laura hanging out with the girls

Nickole with Tabitha and Tamra

So many wonderful presents for our little girl

Opening presents..

and more presents..

I cannot thank everyone enough for coming and showering us with such love!

Nursery Tour

Here is a quick tour of Harper's nursery..

A view from her bed

Our cherry blossom branch. I love the way it turned out!

Her dresser we found at IKEA.

Her window seat. Emily, my nanny, did all the sewing for me. So talented!

So sweet!

Last but not least, her closet.

I just love the way her room turned out. I can't wait for her to enjoy it!

A Taste of Spring

Don't you just love the first beautiful day after a cold winter? We decided to take full advantage and head to the park. Cam played for hours and since I am 8 months pregnant and as big as a house, Matt had to keep up with him without me to help out. They both slept very well that night:)

I love this little boy!

All things baby!

I have been the worst mother! Here I am 6 weeks from having our little girl and I haven't blogged hardly anything about it. I guess having a nearly 2 year old has kept my mind a little occupied.

I figured I'd better take a minute to document a few things before she's out and about and I really have a lot on my plate.

Matt and I started talking about having another kid in June, and lo and behold, we found out we were pregnant in July. I knew from the beginning that we were having a girl. I'm not sure what it was, but something made me think "girl" from the beginning.

This pregnancy has been very different from when I had Cam. With Cam I was sick forever (at least it felt like it). With this pregnancy no sickness at all. With Cam I craved grease and McDonald's was my best friend (don't judge...cheeseburgers were the only thing that calmed my stomach.) With this one, I have craved fruit and vegetables. So strange! I have also craved red wine. Like seriously...could drink a whole bottle kind of crave! Don't worry I stick with the fruits and veggies and away from the wine:). The only thing that has been the same, unfortunately, is the acid reflux. It would get so bad with both of my pregnancies that I had to get on some meds. It was eating my throat raw! With the help of a little pill, everything is much better.Besides my stomach getting bigger and the reflux, this pregnancy has been a breeze so far. Time has flown by way too fast!

Cam is taking pretty well to the upcoming change. He points to my stomach and says "sissy." He also wants to burp her, which ends up with him hitting my stomach and making the burp sound himself. It's pretty cute! I asked him what we needed for his sissy and he said a lamby and blankie so she can sleep (that's what he sleeps with). I know it will be hard for him to share with mommy and daddy with his sister, but I am praying for a smooth adjustment.

The nursery is almost complete. A huge thanks to Matt's mom for helping with the fabric choices and Emily and her mom for doing all the sewing. Matt and I had a vision and they definitely made it happen. My mom has also been a huge help, also. She got us a new crib and the dresser. I will post pictures soon.

As for a name...

We wanted to name her Harper Ellen (Ellen was my Grandma's name). That was the name we had picked out if Cam was a girl and we wanted to use it for this little one. Now, however, I keep changing my mind. Harper is so popular right now, I'm scared it will be the new Jessica or Kelly. There may be 3 Harpers in her class one day. As a teacher these are things I think about. Oh well, I guess we will see if we find something we like just as much before we have to sign the birth certificate.

Here are a few pics from our 15 week ultrasound. I have some from our 30 week one but her head was already so far down we didn't get a good view of her face. Hopefully, she looks a little more like a baby and less alien-like by now:)

A Big Help...

One day he might actually learn to fold laundry!