Ava May Decker

Our little girl is here and everything went smoothly according to plan! On Friday, May 8 I had a scheduled induction at 7am. My mom was here to watch the boys, and Luke and I walked in to the hospital, did some paperwork and kind of waited around until my midwife arrived at 9am. She immediately went ahead and broke my water. I was a little nervous since I'd never had that done before but it went fast, and despite what I thought, nothing happened. I still wasn't feeling any contractions, but by 9:45 I had my epidural put in and by 10 they had added Pitocin to my IV to start labor. My epidural must have been done well because I hardly felt contractions when they finally started coming. Luke was sure it was going to take awhile though so a little after 11:30 he stepped out to grab himself some lunch. My midwife came back at noon to check on me and she surprised me when she said I was already fully ready to push. I said, "Are you sure? I don't feel a thing!" I could hardly believe it. Luke luckily came back from his lunch right in time. I only pushed for about 10 minutes and at 12:19pm she was born! She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and 19.5 inches long.

The first thing I remember saying when they placed her on me was that she was so little! I guess compared to my boys she looked and felt so small but she's perfect. The first thing I remember Luke saying was "You didn't scream at all this time." Ha, compared to my last experience this was so much easier! I feel so lucky to have had a breezy pregnancy and then the easiest labor and delivery so far too! I'm going to have to remember for the future, having a scheduled induction with epidural is the way to go!

Luke and I had a little trouble deciding on a name for her. We came in each with an idea, but eventually we agreed on Ava. The boys had a little help with that decision and since we knew they favored it, that's what pushed us to go with it, and I think her name flows perfectly with the rest of ours.
As for her middle name, we had earlier joked that since we had such a hard time picking girl names that maybe it would be easiest to just call her May since that was the month she was born, but then it kind of stuck and we liked it. I was even more pleased when I realized my grandpa's mother's middle name was also May and I found it interesting that through her we have several pioneer ancestors with great history, so the name has a lot more meaning now to me. So that's how she got her name- Ava May Decker.

As soon as we got moved up to my room, my mom brought the boys over so they could visit their new baby sister. They were so excited- especially Blake who kept saying things like, "There's my baby sister! Ooh look, she's soo cute!" They were so busy watching the baby get cleaned up, Blake didn't even notice me until about five minutes after being there, then he turned and said, "Mom?! What are you doing here?" You would think Blake obviously doesn't have a clue, but then after that he must have put two and two together because he kept asking, "Mom your belly doesn't hurt anymore?" Ha, it was too cute.

They were really anxious to hold and look at her. It was so fun to see Blake now as a big brother. He has been especially excited for baby sister and he was so gentle and sweet with her.

Jacob also liked holding her though he was disappointed when she didn't laugh at him making silly faces at her. He keeps forgetting that little babies can't really do anything yet so he's looking forward to when he can help out more, and he really is a great helper. 

Both boys were so sweet and I know already they are going to be great big brothers who are so helpful and will watch out for their little sister.

Here's my mom with her new granddaughter and some more various family photos with the new addition!

That night in the hospital I only got about an hour sleep, so we were ready to leave Saturday, and finally got out by about 6pm. It was pouring rain, like it had been all weekend, and Ava cried the whole way home, so we were off to a shaky start but it was good to be home.

The next day was Mother's Day, which was quite a fitting day to be pampered. Luke brought me breakfast in bed, the boys brought me cards all own their own and had their dad make me cinnamon buns since they know it's my favorite. Then I got to stay home from church and rest until they got home at noon- it was much needed and appreciated!

It was a special Mother's Day since it was my first one with a new daughter, my first as a mom of 3 kids, and I was grateful to have my own mom here helping me out! I am such a lucky mom to have three beautiful and sweet kids. We are so excited Ava is here and for the joy she's already brought to our family! I know it will be an adjustment with three kids and being a family of 5, but we are looking forward to our adventures ahead!

Baby Shower and Updates

 My friend Nicole planned an awesome baby shower for me! It was an "About to Pop" theme and so we had a popcorn bar and foods all focused around the pop theme- it was so cute! And Nicole did a great job putting everything together!

There were a few games, and for one of them there were pictures of Luke and I as adults and babies cut up, and people had to put the pieces together to guess what our baby will look like. Everyone had fun with it and the results were hilarious! I loved it :)

These were all the results! I guess we will find out soon what she really looks like ;)
 

After socializing, eating, and playing a few games, I got to open my gifts. It felt so different to be getting some girl things- it was exciting and much appreciated! :)

The young women in the ward even tied a baby quilt for me, and I just loved it. So thoughtful of them, and I always appreciate the handmade things :)

It was such a fun and memorable shower and I am so grateful for all those who came and for all those who have brought me gifts! It's been so nice (and fun!) to get some things for the new girl. And it was an extra treat to have Erika at the baby shower too!

Since the shower I've been busy getting everything else ready- organizing, cleaning, and setting up the baby room and changing things around for a girl. Since taking these pictures I've added some flower/ butterfly stickers around the room and have stocked the closet more. I think we're ready!

Here is me at 35 weeks above, and now at 38 weeks and 5 days- just 9 days until my due date!

I am carrying pretty high still, but feel smaller compared to my previous pregnancies. Overall though, I feel like it's been my easiest pregnancy! I've still been sleeping well and moving around just fine and keeping up with everything. I get tired occasionally and feel a lot of braxton hicks contractions but I can't complain- it's been a rather easy and normal pregnancy, which I'm grateful for.

My mom will come into town next week to help me out with the boys, and then the plan is for me to be induced one day early on Friday, May 8. So we will see if all goes as planned! We are just so excited to meet our baby girl and move on to the next stage for our family! One week to go! :)

Spring Break at Home

Spring Break felt like it started early with our trip to Vegas mid-March. Erika was in town to watch the boys for us and after we got home, she was still with us for a few more days. It was fun to spend time together and go shopping and stuff while she was here.  Her last day in town was a Saturday, so she got to be around for my baby shower that morning (which I'll post about later) and with a few change in plans we ended up taking the boys to the park to enjoy her last day before flying back to Idaho. We always love when the weather starts warming up!

The boys had a great week with Erika! She spoiled them with taking them out to eat a lot and got them both some presents but still took on all the day to day responsibilities! It was a lot of work but we're so grateful she came out to help and spend time with the boys.

Once school got out the last week of March we kicked off Spring Break by putting the boys beds together as bunk beds in Jacob's room.  Blake had no problems switching rooms so that the baby could have his old room. Both boys were excited to put their things together and be able to play together in one room.

The first night Jacob was a little worried about sleeping higher up, but Blake had no problems being a new room. Overall, they adjusted great and at first liked to stay up and talk for awhile and had a hard time falling asleep, but with it being Spring Break, it was a good time to transition them. The boys always wake each other up in the morning too, but it really worked out fine and been a rather easy transition.

The rest of the week mostly consisted of playing with friends, meeting at parks, and running errands. Our first friends we met up with were Ava and Aria- Jacob's old preschool friend and her sister, who the boys just adore. They always have fun getting together :)

I was also a little delayed in picking out a new bike for Jacob's birthday so finally we picked one out so that he had something new to play with and practice on his break. Jacob loves his new Hot Wheels bike and we took the boys to the Rec Center that first night so the boys could ride.

Blake is a little more comfortable on the scooter, but we gave him Jacob's old bike to practice on, and he's getting there :)

Jacob has had so much fun riding his bike since he got it and goes really fast. Maybe soon he'll be ready to try 2 wheels ;)

Another day we met our friends the Olsens at Chick-fil-a and it's always good visiting with them too, and seeing the kids reconnect and become friends all over again since they often forget each other between visits, ha. 

By that Thursday I was brave and took the boys to the Rec Center pool where we swam for awhile. It was good for the boys to get some practice in before swimming lessons this summer. That night we met up with Luke and grabbed some Cafe Rio for dinner then went to a fun place called Monkey Bizness that night for the boys to play. They had so much fun running around together, and when the place emptied towards closing, Luke got in on the action too :)  It was a great family night!

One night Luke experimented with the gift I got him for Christmas and attempted making his own bloomin' onion. It took a little work, but I thought for his first attempt he did a pretty good job! We also fried some twinkies and oreos one night too.

It was a great week full of parks, picnics, friends and nice weather!

The weekend before Easter was our ward Easter egg hunt and the boys had fun with that as always.

Easter weekend the boys dyed their eggs and we did our own egg hunt Easter afternoon in the backyard. 

We enjoyed a nice Easter dinner at home and I was proud of the strawberry pie I made for dessert! With Conference all Easter weekend I took some pictures of the boys dressed up the Sunday before.

Such handsome boys :)

I loved spending time together with my boys and getting as much good family time in together before our family changes again! We are so looking forward for baby sister to join our family but in some ways I think I might miss these days with just my 2 boys! Life is really good :)