Eden's Birth Story (the long version)

 

We welcomed another baby to our family last week and it has been magical ever since. Seriously, I've been told the third baby is a wild card from birth and after, but everything has been great ever since she's joined us. Obviously there have been challenges, but nothing that can take away from the magic of adding a baby to the crew or a newborn into the home.

Eden's birth story is really not what I expected it to be. In my head, I guess I was imagining a repeat of Wesley's birth because I truly enjoyed his from start to finish and wanted that experience again.

My due date was 6/6 and Jake was finishing his first year of medical school on 6/4. So that last week, my mom was in town and I was really trying to relax and pray the baby didn't come. Friday, 6/4, she hadn't come and Jake was finished with school so we spent a night downtown to celebrate which was so nice and much needed for the both of us. 

Saturday we came home fully expecting to have the baby that night . . . Nope.

Sunday (my due date) . . . Nope.

Monday . . . Nope.

We finally decided to start enjoying the last days we had together as a family of 4 and where I was feeling good. We did ice cream dates with the kids, park dates, shopping around, we even took them to a restaurant which we haven't done in forever.  I was really trying to be patient and content with the time that we had left, even though we were definitely anxious for her to join us. 

Thursday the 10th we took the kids to the park in the morning so I could go on a walk and they could scooter around. We did an ice cream date at UDF after that which the kids loved. We spent a lot of time at the farm the rest of the day, swimming and playing at the sport court. When we got home around 3:30, Wesley was tired and we were jus relaxing in my room. Around 3:45/4 I had my first noticeable / uncomfortable contraction. 

The rest of the evening went on - I made dinner, I curled my hair, I cleaned some things up, I put June to bed. The whole time I was timing the contractions and they were coming about 5 1/2 - 6 minutes apart but they weren't super painful and they were only lasting 30-40 seconds. I figured they'd get more intense as we got into the night.

I went to the bathroom at 9:13 pm (I texted Jake so I have good time stamps on these haha) and had a bunch of mucous, which made me realize that the contractions were actually doing something!

After that, I started to put Wesley down for bed so that I could lay down and rest before the contractions got too difficult. . . Right when I laid down at 9:37 pm, I heard and felt a pop and I knew my water had broken. I immediately called Jake and asked him to come in our room. I wasn't moving because I didn't want it to leak out on our bed. Jake came in and I asked him to bring a couple towels because I was pretty sure my water had broken. His face went from nonchalant to shocked soooo fast. 

He brought me a couple towels and helped me put them under my body. As I *very* slowly moved, the water just kept on coming. My water has never broken at home, only while we were at the hospital, so this kind of freaked me out. I was especially freaked out because when my water broke with Wesley, he was born 40 minutes later! So when I got up and knew that my water had officially broken, I told Jake we needed to leave now. Of course we hadn't finished packing the bag, so my mom grabbed some last minute things and threw them in. I put on an adult diaper, wrapped a towel around myself, and we went! 

We called my doctor's office on the way to let them know we were on the way. Funny moment from this is Jake was talking to the nurse and when she asked my birthday, he said "3.... 28......1995." Hahhaha, completely wrong. He was nervous - it felt like we went from 0-100 so fast. I guess that's how everyone feels when their water breaks! 

We got to the hospital around 10:45 pm and had to enter through the E.R. which was annoying. We had to wait there for 15 or so minutes for an L+D nurse to come grab us. I was managing the contractions really well, just staying focused and in my head and not worrying about anything else that was going on. They took us straight to my room because the contractions were pretty consistent. I heard the nurse who was wheeling me in talking on the phone saying. "She thinks her water broke and believes the baby will be here fast." I was just rolling my eyes on the inside because I knew 100% for a FACT that my water had broken! 

The midwife came to check me and she was soooo kind and gentle. I was only a 4, 90% effaced, and 0 station. I was surprised but just was glad we made it to the hospital since we were pretty close to not making it with Wesley. 

I laid down in the bed on my left side with the peanut ball and Jake's airpods in and just breathed through the contractions while they got my IV in and did all the paperwork. It's been interesting for my past 2 births, I've been the most comfortable laying on my back or side resting rather than walking around or in the shower. The next hour was pretty chill - the contractions upped in intensity and around midnight, they started to feel like I couldn't manage them. I got shaky and was telling Jake, "I'm not doing this! I can't do this. I'm getting the epidural." 

Jake (calmly) said, "Do you want to try to use the nitrous first?" I said yes, even though in the moment I really just wanted immediate relief. They quickly set that up and I started breathing it in around 12:30 am. 

The nurse asked to check me and I said sure, but don't tell me what I'm at. She told Jake and when she left the room I went ahead and asked Jake what I was at and he said I was a 5. Only a 5 in an hour! So I immediately stood up over the side of the bed because I was feeling done and when I stood up, it was as if the baby dropped into the correct position and my body started to push. I mean REALLY push. I was bearing down and grunting and Jake immediately stood up to be with me and make sure the nurse was coming in! 

My nurse came in within 2 minutes of me standing up because she noticed the contraction pattern changed on the monitor and she asked if she could check me again. I was at a 9! This was probably 12:45 am. She asked me to move to the bed in a few minutes if I could, I said that I would. I actually just gave a thumbs up haha. Best way to communicate in labor.

After a couple more contractions and my body starting to push, I laid down and she checked me again and I was a 10 and she was having them call Dr. Pierson. At this point, I felt pretty out of control to be honest. It felt like the baby was coming, ready or not! I just kept my eyes closed and tried to breathe and focus through each contraction. They were coming one on top of another and I could feel the baby moving down the canal - literally. I could feel the head making its way down and I was trying to reason with myself (in my head) that I could do this. When I try to describe what this part of labor felt like, the only thing I can think of is imagining a large rock coming down and out of you. Without the water sack to cushion everything, her body was just very hard like a rock making its way down.

I remember thinking around this time that I would definitely be getting the epidural next time, and that the pain was almost unbearable and I just needed it to be over ASAP! 

I laid down on the bed at 12:54 AM and was breathing and breathing and breathing, long drawn out breaths. Then around 12:57 I started to push and she was coming! Her head was right there. I pushed for 6 minutes, the longest and fastest 6 minutes of my life. Pushing as hard as I could with each contraction, trying to work with the contraction and not against it. 

At 1:03 AM her head came out, then 2 more big pushes and her body came out. The doctor and Jake said in unison, "You did it! You did it!" They brought her up to my chest, and I laid my head back and cried. It was over. It was beautiful and it was over, now I could enjoy my baby! She cried and she cried and I just laid my head back on the bed, grateful that the pain was over and that she was here with us. The nurse commented that she was another good size baby.

My placenta came quickly, within a few minutes, and I barely noticed. My doctor checked me for tears which burned and I cringed through the checking. I felt so fortunate to not have any tears! 

For the first time in all of my baby's births, we got the golden hour together. She nursed, Jake cuddled her, she nursed again. They weighed her after a little bit of time and she was 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 3/4 inches. I hardly remember the first night with her. She's 3.5 months and her birth already feels like a lifetime ago. I guess that's what having 3 babies in 3 years does to you! 

Eden is beautiful and amazing and sweet and sour. She hates her car seat, but loves everything else. She's a great cuddler and sleeper. She rocks at nursing. Her siblings are obsessed with her. She smiles and when she's super happy, she sticks her tongue out (all the way down to her chin). She fits right into our family and we love and adore her so much. 

Wesley's Birth Story

We had a baby boy!!!! A sweet, chunky baby boy!!!

We found out we were expecting baby #2 in April 2019! We were so, so excited and knew we'd be having the baby after we moved to Cincinnati! Since I had a c-section with June, I knew it might be trickier to find a care provider that was okay with me trying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), but I was GOING to do it no matter what. I have never been comfortable with the idea of having 2, 3, 4, 5 c-sections.

My pregnancy went really well (more on that later!) and I ended up only gaining around 25 lbs which was great. I had been a lot more active doing yoga and working on the farm doing chores, plus just being with June helped me stay more active. I was also making sure to spend a lot more time on all fours, walking, bouncing on the ball, doing the Miles circuit . . . So many good things that I've heard are important for getting baby in the correct position. I also was eating dates, using evening primrose oil around 38 weeks, eating pineapple, etc.

My family was coming to stay with us on Dec 21. My "due date" was Dec 23. I wasn't having too many signs that labor was impending, but I had this idea that my body was waiting for my family to get here so that June would for sure be taken care of. Every night I would go to bed and worry that I would go into labor and I would have to wake Brent to listen for June or whatever. So many things go through your head those last few weeks, but I was glad to have my family coming to help.

They arrived Saturday Dec 21 around 9/10 pm! I remember that night really well because Jake made some spicy and delicious pineapple fried rice. The Smiths were in town, too, and we were all hanging out together. Throughout that Saturday, we started packing the hospital bag but hadn't finished yet. And I had started to notice some discharge in my underwear (sorry TMI :)) but nothing major.

We went home that night and June was sleeping in our room while my family slept in the other rooms. We put her to bed in the pack n play and we went to bed, too. Around 2:30 am, June woke up and I remember getting up, picking her up, and putting her straight into bed with us. And that's when I had my first contraction. I laid back down thinking, I know for sure that was a little contraction. Let's see if more come . . .

I checked my phone around 3 and I had had a few more that I felt were already coming consistently. I downloaded the contraction timer and they had been coming every 8-10 minutes. I ended up getting out of bed to make sure they would keep coming and to watch Grey's Anatomy. I like watching Grey's while I'm in labor since I've already seen all of them and it can be mindless watching. I sat on the couch and watched for an hour or so - surprisingly, they felt better on the couch than standing.

Around 5 am I went to the bathroom and decided to get into the bath. I let Jake know what was going on but told him to stay asleep since he really needed to rest just in case it was a long day! Plus I didn't want June to wake up, too. So I got in the warm bath with more Grey's and they had still been coming consistently, probably 8 minutes apart max. I watched until the water got cold and the farthest apart the contractions got in the bath was 11 minutes. I knew this was the real deal.

*TMI warning :) I remember checking the clock around 7 am when I went to the bathroom again and when I wiped, I felt a ton of mucous. . . I wiped again and there was SO. MUCH. mucous coming out. I was literally pulling it out. This didn't happen with June so I was surprised how different this was already.

I could feel pressure really low, I had been feeling a similar pressure the last couple weeks of pregnancy, so I knew the baby was for sure in a more engaged position than June was! After the bath, I went back to the couch and watched Grey's again and waited for Jake and June to wake up. I was handling the contractions pretty well honestly. I would breathe through them, but it felt like they were passing quickly.

Around 8:15, I heard Jake and June waking up and they made their way to the living room. Jake made June a bagel and I stayed on the couch as I turned on Frozen 2 for June. I was trying to act cool but the contractions were 5 minutes apart at this point. I wasn't even timing them anymore because they were so consistent! He sat next to me on the couch and he would just watch me every contraction. With his face he was saying, are these real? Haha. I don't think he could believe it either - things had just progressed so much faster this time.

As my family started waking up, I was getting a little overwhelmed and went into the shower. They were about 4 minutes apart now and the shower took the pain downnnnnnn. My mom came and checked on me and asked if I needed anything, I told her to ask Jake to come in and call the doctor. I wanted him to see who was on call and just ask what the doctor thought about when I should come in.

I got out of the shower around 10 am and the doctor wanted to talk to me on the phone. I think the doctor just wanted to hear what I sounded like, so when I had a contraction on the phone and breathed through it really well, he was like, "You sound great! Just plan to come to the hospital in a couple hours but right now I'm comfortable with you staying at home." I was thinking, "Oh I guess I must not be as far as I thought." I stayed laying down on the bed for a little while but things started to get a little overwhelming. When I got off the phone with him, I noticed they had gotten closer to three minutes apart.

I had previously asked Jake to finish packing the bag and he had. I started moving out of the room and looking for acceptable clothes to wear to the hospital. I put on green sweatpants and a black shirt. Jake was eating lunch and kind of moving slow - I guess I wasn't making it sound serious enough that we. needed. to. go! Jake was worried about us going too early, because we both think with June that we went to the hospital a tad early. But I was trying to kindly let him know that I think we need to go . . . like NOW. Even my mom packed an overnight bag since my last labor was soooooo long.

At this point, I was so grateful for my sisters entertaining June because my contractions were 2 1/2 minutes apart and it was getting really difficult to walk and focus on anything else, even in between the contraction. As we got closer to leaving, each contraction I got I had to bend over and just make any noise that felt good. I'm sure my family was like ????

Jake helped me put my shoes on and walked me to the car. June came out to say bye and she was crying and I was crying - I didn't anticipate having so many emotions about leaving my first baby to go have my second. I knew when I came home things were going to be so much different and in that moment, I wanted one more day pregnant with her. But then another contraction came and we had to get out of there.  We let Tracey know that we were headed to the hospital!

When we first got on the road, Jake asked, "Do you want me to go fast or drive safe?" And all I said was FAST. But then there were hills and bumps and I had to ask him to slow down. My mom was sitting directly behind me in the car and she was trying to be helpful by rubbing my shoulders during a contraction but I just didn't want to be touched. I was banging my fist against the window, groaning, grabbing onto Jake's hand. Honestly, I don't remember at all now how that pain felt but I know that it was so real. Crazy how our minds can block those out!

The hospital is about 40 minutes away and I was just trying to stay calm . . . so much easier said than done. About 20 minutes in, I felt the bottom half of my body convulsing. You know how when your body is trying to gag itself to throw up? It was like that but on the bottom half. I was telling myself mentally, you're not pushing. This baby is not coming. You're almost there. You can make it.

Jake was flying at 90 and I said slow down, if you get pulled over we're going to have a baby on the side of the road. He said if he gets pulled over, the police will escort us. I said sure, after he delivers our baby!!

We made it to the hospital and honestly, I didn't know the best way to get to L+D! I had been there once but it was during weird hours and I tried to go that way again and ended up having to walk way further than normal. People were looking at me like I was crazy, but I honestly did not care. We were walking and walking - my mom parked our car for us - and I was stopping every 2 minutes to breathe through a contraction.

When we made it to the front desk, they were wanting me to sign some stuff. I couldn't do it. Jake was filling stuff out for me and another nurse came to the desk after hearing me and said, "What baby is this for you?" And with my fingers I held out the number 2. With that, she immediately opened the door, took my arm, and brought me to the triage room. Right when I got into the room, I was undressing because I wanted to be checked and get into a gown.

I should mention at this point I was feeling really nervous. I'm really good at handling contractions, but I had never prepared mentally for transition stage and pushing. I just had never gotten there before and when I did, it was overwhelming. They were coming so fast and the pressure was building - I could feel everything opening and baby moving down. It was so wild.

When she checked me, Jake walked into the room right when she said, "You're a 6 and -1 station." That honestly was a huge relief to hear. She didn't check baby or anything, just wanted me to go directly to our room. It was just a minute walk away and all the nurses were scrambling getting stuff ready for the baby to come. Jake and I were alone in the room and I had one big contraction that I swear changed everything! I leaned over the sink in the room and just did a huge, lioness scream/roar and cried. Tears falling down my face! He was crying too - I can imagine how helpless he feels in the moment.

After that one, I had another and I said, "I'M PUSHING." The nurse ran back in and said can I check you again? I said yes, laid on the bed, she checked me and said, "She's an 8 and 0!" When she said that, my water broke all over her - just like in the movies - a huge splash on the bed and the floor. So within 3 minutes, I had dilated 2 more cm and baby had for sure moved down. The rest of this time until the baby was born is really blurry. I was letting fear take over and I had been telling them I wanted an epidural, or something to take the edge off. They told me they couldn't give me anything until the doctor approved it. I was asking over and over and over until finally they hooked up laughing gas for me.

I remember there was another doctor on call that was standing in the doorway. They told me he would deliver the baby if my doctor didn't make it. There were a ton of other nurses bringing the baby warmer in and setting up huge lights. It all felt truly surreal. And again, overwhelming. I couldn't believe this was really happening. This is the part I will have to prepare for next time mentally, because my mind kept telling me "You can't do this." but my body was telling me, "Well, you HAVE to do this and you ARE doing it."

I believe we got into our room around 12 and my doctor made it and checked me. I told him, "Do NOT tell me I'm a 10!" I was still holding out hope for that epidural ha. And he said, "Well. . . you're a 9.5 with a lip but you can push if you're ready!"

I remember they kept asking me if I wanted to lay in a different position or stand or go on all fours or do whatever I wanted, but I felt comfortable on my back which is surprising. The laughing gas kicked in really quickly and it truly helped me relax so much. It helped my mind back off from saying you can't do this and just let my body work. 10/10 would recommend laughing gas.

It was a little weird at one point because I think with the calm that I felt with the laughing gas, I thought I had gone to sleep or something. It felt like I was in a completely different world, and then all of a sudden I came back down to that hospital room and I had the thought, "Oh I'm still here and I'm not done yet." I remember asking if June was okay and Jake laughed and said we had only been at the hospital for 20 minutes. They showed me pictures of her on the swing all happy. I asked if Jake's mom had made it yet and she was on the way.

The nurses helped me realize that I was kind of working against the contraction by trying to keep everything in. They encouraged me to just push and work with the contraction and that might make it feel better, and they were totally right. Once I started pushing down with the contraction, there was a ton of relief physically. I could feel where each push was working and I could feel everything coming down. It was truly remarkable!!

I remember the nurses and everyone kept telling me how great I was doing and that the baby was almost there, but when I looked off to the side, the doctor was standing at the door. I thought to myself, "If the baby was close, he would be down there, not at the door. They're lying." Hahaha. My mind was talking so much, but my mouth was totally silent (which I'm glad for).

Finally, there was one huge push that is STILL engrained in my head. This push, I felt basketball-sized pressure coming out and it was a burning sensation. BURNING. I remember closing my eyes, pushing, and thinking again to myself, "I'm tearing from my vagina to my butthole right now. That's fine. It'll heal." I just kept pushing to get rid of that burning and pressure as soon as I could. When I finished that push, I remember everyone saying, "You're crowning! He's coming! His head's here!"

Another contraction came pretty quickly and everyone knew because I would start with a low groaning sound when I felt it start. They encouraged me to push and I did but then the doctor realized that the cord was pretty tight around the neck. He tried to lift it off with the next push but it was so tight he ended up having to clamp and cut it before the body was out. He told me to wait, and I actually was able to. Once they said it was safe, I pushed again and his body came out so quickly.

The nurse said, "It's ab oy!" And Jake said, "It's a boy!" And then I said, "It's a boy!" And we were crying and we were so happy and I was grabbing his tiny cute body. Jake was kissing my forehead and we were so, so happy. I was probably the happiest because holy cow, that was so crazy.

The cord was pretty tight and he wasn't crying quite yet (I didn't notice in the moment), so they ended up taking him to the warmer and they did CPAP for about a minute. His first APGAR was 2 and his second APGAR was 9. He perked up quickly, luckily. Before they took him to the nursery (which is protocol for babies who require CPAP), they let him nurse and cuddle me. I was so grateful for those moments with him, especially because I knew holding him so quickly would help our breastfeeding relationship flourish!

When they were checking him out on the warmer, I passed the placenta very easily. I hardly noticed because I was just trying to see him! I had a first degree tear and required one stitch. He gave me some lidocaine and did that so quickly. He tried to prepare me for what the next day would be like but I honestly couldn't hear at all. I was in shock that I had just gotten my VBAC and it felt like I had to put in very little effort. I was also shocked we had a baby boy!!

It was overall such an amazing, fast day. He was born at 12:43 pm weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long. He was immediately so sweet, an amazing nurser, and had the brightest eyes.

We love you, Wesley Christopher Blackwelder!

Wesley's Blessing Day

Wesley was blessed on super bowl Sunday!! With June, we decided to have a blessing at home (at the farm) because it's more close-knit and less nerve-wracking for me. It's hard trying to figure out a good time when the baby is going to be sleeping and then do it . . . but at home, we can do it whenever the baby is ready! With both babies so far, it's worked out perfectly! Wesley slept so well during it. Personally, babies not crying helps me feel the spirit a little bit more ha.

Since I'm writing this way after the fact, I thought I'd share a sweet story about Wesley and Pops. Pops was holding baby boy in church on the same Sunday, fast Sunday, and after he gave Wesley back to me, he went up to the stand to bear his testimony. I don't remember exactly what he said but it was to the effect of Wesley is really blessed to have so many people who love him, especially men that have continued to follow the gospel as they have gotten older. If he's ever in need of guidance or encouragement, he has so many amazing men to look up to. It's hard to imagine Wesley, or any of my children, ever straying away from the gospel or our family. It made me think, what can I do better to help my children want to stay with me and do good things?

Everyone came to the farm at a great time and we were able to do the blessing in a really smooth way. I had Megan take some pictures of our family beforehand and then during the blessing, Wesley slept while being rocked. I'm sure it felt like heaven. Jake gave a really sweet, genuine blessing. It's always so crazy to me how eloquent he can be in such a small amount of time. I feel like I need to prepare even for a prayer, but he can just go out there and put tears in everyone's eyes!

We really are so lucky to have an amazing family and such wonderful children. Adding Wesley to our family has rocked my world in so many ways, I'm glad that I have help everywhere I look to get me through the tricky times. We love our Wesley more than words can say - so happy he chose us!

Here are some pictures, completely unedited, from Wesley's special day!

Recap of the last 3 months!

I seriously haven't opened my computer in probably 2+ months! Having a TV in our house has changed how we do electronics and shows around here. We've been cranking Downton Abbey on the TV and iPad, completely neglecting using the laptop at all! I'm not complaining though... The last three months have been busy and so, so good! I'll try to do a quick recap with pictures:

September: 

Living at the farm was going well! We were still waiting for Jake to receive more invites to interviews, so checking his email super often! Jake was still in training for work so he was mostly working at the farm. It was super nice to have him around since he's working more now and his shifts are super weird!

The best thing that happened that month was Brooke and Blakely coming for a visit!! They came just for a couple of days and we were able to go to the Jonas Brothers concern while Jake and Brent watched the girls! It was SO FUN!! I'm so glad we went, it was such a fun night hanging out with her. We had a fun couple of days hanging out with the girls at the farm - we only wish they could've stayed longer! Blakely and June were funny together, I wish they would've gotten along better but I guess that's what you can expect from two toddlers!

The same couple of days, Jessica was in town with Emma so we had three one year olds hanging out all at once! That was fun. The girls did chores, swam, ate, napped... It was a great couple of days!!

The weather started to cool down which was a relief. We did the zoo, Washington Park in downtown Cincinnati, and did a birthday scavenger hunt for the September birthdays in the family.

October: 

October was fun and finally welcomed more sweater weather!! We had a few SUPER cold days (including Halloween), but I feel like the rest of the month was pretty nice! It went by so fast.

The BEST thing that happened this month was . . . Jake getting into the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine!!!! We are sooo, soo excited!!! October 15th is the first day that medical schools are allowed to accept students all over the country. Jake had interviewed about 5 weeks before that and they said that that group of students should for sure hear back by October 15th. They said they were going to email, so he turned on notifications for his email and we started checking it right when we woke up! Haha it was the first question he asked me when he rolled over in the morning, "Can you check my email?"

We went through the day like normal, trying not to focus too much on the wait! We were doing flowers that day and Jake was doing his regular work on the farm. He had gone back to the house to change or something and he got a call from the Cincinnati area and he answered it and it was a guy named Gil. He basically said, "Congratulations!! You're in!!" And Jake immediately ran around the house and was freaking out, of course!! He talked with the guy and figured out that he is an M4 and that he graduated from BYU too! Jake immediately facetimed me when Gil hung up and he told me he got in and we couldn't believe it!! Tracey was there too so we were all SOO excited. He rode the motorcycle over and we were just hugging and laughing and making him tell us about the phone call! He still hadn't gotten an email or notification in his portal (and didn't until hours later), but it was so nice to know!! And then we ended up getting a physical letter in the mail a few weeks later. :) We went to Mazunte's to celebrate!! I'm seriously beyond proud of him, words could not even explain. He truly worked so hard for this!

We had two sets of fun visitors in the month of October! Our first set of visitors was Lisette and my Grandma! They flew in the first weekend of October and we did everything pumpkin patchy and chores! It was nice just to relax with them for a few days, have June play with Lisette, and we got a bunch of cute Halloween outfits from my grandma! The trip was super quick but it was fun - I'm glad we got to see them since Thanksgiving and Christmas are so far away from then and we still hadn't received any invites to Texas schools!

Our seconds set of visitors were my mom and Amanda!! I had asked them to come to help me finish June's room. I had started on it, but I was stuck and needed to do some work on it! My mom decorated her house so cute and nice so I knew she'd enjoy helping me do it! She ended up getting June sooo many good things for her room and for her closet. It was such a fun, quick trip and it was really nice for Amanda to be able to spend more time with June! I'm so glad they're able to just drive up really quickly and hang out with us for the weekend!

We did King's Island, hikes in the woods around the house, chopped and stacked wood, pumpkin patched it up. It was such a fun month. I love the month of October. It's no surprise I always tell people my dream is to have an October baby hahah. One day!!

*obviously in the middle of strapping her in ;) 

November:

November FLEW by!!! I can hardly believe tomorrow is December!! But I am reaaally excited about it. :)  

This month was fun for us - We got a calling in church to teach the 5-6 year olds, Aubrey and Nate visited for a couple hours, the weather got cold and we layered up for chores almost every week day, and then the holidays began with Thanksgiving! 

Our days are mostly spent doing chores in the morning with Tracey, June taking a nap in the early afternoon while I try to prepare dinner and clean, and then we spend the rest of the afternoon playing with cousins or just finding some fun things to do around the farm! Jake has been working about 2-3 times a week, so June and I have been spending a lot of time together. It's been good - she is an expert with farm chores. She is so brave getting the dogs' food together and then trying to go through the gate to give them each their half! This evening she was trying so hard to open the gate to give Pierre his food, even though he had been barking at Kate the goat because she was eating what Pierre already had! She didn't care about the barking and just decided she was going to go in and give him some more. Haha I love her so much, it's fun watching her be brave and try new things. I know she probably won't remember any of this, but I hope some pictures and videos will do her time here justice! She's learning and doing so much every day! 

Thanksgiving was more casual than I thought.  A lot of people showed up that weren't family, but it went really well even with June being surrounded by a bunch of people! I made green bean casserole which is currently my favorite Thanksgiving dish. We hung out by the fire while June jumped on the trampoline with her cousins, scootered around, and played on her car! I wonder if June will remember her dad playing pickle ball outside and her constantly pumping her scooter right into the court! 

It's been a fun start to the holiday season! This week I'm hoping to decorate for Christmas a little bit and go get our tree!! I know Jake's family gets a real one every year, so we'll probably get one from the same place they go ever year. I'm so excited for this season and I'm going to try to update more often for myself and for my 2 loyal followers. Haha