Strawberry buns...

Strawberry buns! This could be the title of a hilarious family story I have involving a steep hill and my poor mother, but for now we'll stick to Anabelle's cute little buns... I bought these outfits for the girls when I was super pregnant, and Anabelle is quickly outgrowing hers! So I couldn't help myself; we had to play dress up today:)

Raegan is such a sweet and confident big sister already. Look how calm she is, holding her fussing litttle sissy. She loves her so much, and I adore that she repeats my phrases to her. "I'm here, Anabelle," she'll say when her sister starts to cry. I'm so excited for Ana to smile back at us. I remember that moment with Raegan. It's rewarding and amazing. This time Raegan will get to feel that proud moment with us. They are gonna be best friends, I just know it:)

Sunshine for Papa Boley

Raegan and Anabelle are SO very blessed to have all 4 happy, healthy grandparents~ and still married! I think that's a big deal in the world we live in today. My parents see the girls rather often, considering they are still a 2-hour drive from our home. But the Boleys live much farther away. Iowa is a full day of traveling, so when they come it's an extra special treat. This time it was just just Papa Boley, and we had a few days of fun. We had gorgeous (almost record-breaking) weather, so we fired up the BBQ for the first time this year, played lots of hopscotch, and enjoyed the sunshine!

Boley boys posting a picture of their huge steaks on facebook:)

My cutey-pie burning energy!

Anabelle and mommy outside~ Ana is wearing her sweet little outfit from Gramma Boley.

Hopscotch!

It's been nice enough, at least a few days this week, to play outside. And when my parents were here, my mom introduced Raegan to hopscotch for the first time... So, Raegan had friends over to play hopscotch in our backyard!

A fun picture of the littlest new additions...

(crazy that us three moms now total 6, soon to be 7 kids between us!)

Help.

I'm a mother of two. It's hard work! I've been thinking so much lately about single moms or mothers without close family or friends. How do they do this? Physcially, mentally, emotionally?

We've had so much help, and it feels like I wouldn't have made it without this support system. Each night a different friend shows up at our doorstep with dinner! It's amazing~ we've been eating like royalty:) And that's not all! Some have brought gifts, some flowers, some stayed to help out, some have done dishes, taken out the trash, played with Raegan, held the baby... it's overwhelming how loved and taken care of I've felt. I'm so incredibly grateful.

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is: a pie with an "A" for Anabelle carved into the crust! Are you kidding me?! (And it was delicious too)

the story... (and a little bit more)

Well, since today is my actual "due" date, I thought it would be appropriate to tell my love's story, or at least a brief version:

Monday and Tuesday I felt ''weird." I know that's doesn't sound very abnormal coming from someone with a full size baby crammed in their abdomen, but something was just different. After my appointment Tuesday (I was 4cm dilated!) I was determined to have this baby! So, after a decent night of sleep, I woke up Wednesday morning with one mission: I'm going to have this baby today. So, I showered and then proceeded to do every trick in the book! (Side-note: I totally butchered Raegan's hair the night before so our morning walk had a two-fold purpose. 1. Fix the sweet child's hair! and 2. have a baby.) We went on a long walk with my dad, drank red-raspberry leaf tea, took evening primrose oil caplets, ate pepperoni for lunch, etc etc... and by 3:30 we were on our way to the hospital with some decent contractions! My dad was conveniently in town and rushed over...

By around 5:30pm, after an hour and a half of bouncing on the birthing ball in triage, we were admitted to the hospital, and everyone had finally joined team "have this child asap!" (I'll admit, I had gone a little bonkers by the end.) We were SO excited to be in that delivery room! It is here I'd like to inject the power of a great delivery nurse. Shannon was her name, and it was love at first sight:)

After only a few short hours our sweet little miracle was born. The experience of giving birth this time was honestly fun. I know that sounds crazy to some, but it was totally peaceful and joy-filled! I asked for a mirror at the very end and watched the birth of my own child- a sight that has changed me forever. They laid beautiful Anabelle on my chest and she cried for just a moment before she peacefully melted into me. It was like the world stopped. The nurse left us for half an hour and we just cried and kissed her over and over.

We spent two nights in the hospital with her and were visited by my parents, Raegan, and some other close friends. I actually enjoyed my time there... must have partly been the vicodin...

And on Saturday morning it was time to unite the Boley family at home.

Raegan spent those hospital nights at home with my parents. My amazing parents. And when we got home she was really excited about holding her baby sister. Raegan is in love with her Anabelle, and has shown only affection and gentleness toward her so far.

Gramma and Grandpa rock! They have spent many nights in Tacoma over the last 10 days. They have kept up the house, cooked amazing meals, entertained Raegan endlessly, and met our every need. How does one even start to say thank you?

In fact, I think Raegan has seen this whole transition as a fun vacation really. She has had her favorite people at her fingertips, lots of walks, candy, movies, and even a morning of swimming!

Anabelle's first bath was a whole family activity. Raegan gave Anabelle her first shampoo outside of the hospital. Way to go big sis!

Freshly bathed and ready to take on the world. This child is already marked by peace and joy! The nights have been very doable. She stirs every 3 hours when she's hungry, and only cries if she's really starving and I'm too slow. And I've caught more smiles on camera lately than I thought possible. I know it's probably mostly bubbles in her tummy, but I shot her a huge grin when she was awake yesterday, and I know she smiled back!

Welcome to the world little one. Your first week has been a delight.

Big Sis Hair cut!

Sisters!

Raegan absolutely adores her new little sister. She loves to slowly close in on her and nuzzle their faces together. Everyone told us that Raegan would seem really big when we got home to the hospital, and they were right!

She's such a grown up Big Sis!

She asks to hold her often, and this particular time I asked her what she was doing, and she said, "I'm counting her fingers, mommy. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NINE!" We did a quick recount to find that there were actually ten:)

Anabelle Jean Boley!

She is here, and although she is tiny, she's the biggest gift from God! Anabelle was born Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 10:01pm. She weighed 7 pounds 3.6 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. We are a family of four now, and we celebrate our newest arrival! Welcome Lil' Sis!