One Month

We have been a family of four for a little more than a month. I can't believe how fast time flies! This little guy sure has changed our lives- definitely for the better!

Now that Ezra is 5 weeks, we are starting to figure out what kind of baby he is. He for sure is mellow, and easygoing. He hardly cries, unless he lets us know he is hungry and mom takes too long getting to him. This happens occasionally in the car, but usually he sleeps great on the road or loves looking around.

He sleeps a lot! But...mostly likes to sleep next to mom or dad. He doesn't have very long stretches at night, but since I fall asleep nursing 75% of the time, I honestly can't tell you how many times he eats a night or how often he wakes up! I do know that we usually get a 3 hour stretch with him in his bassinet next to our bed during the first part of the night.  After that it is a blur!

He loves being worn in the sling! He gets so cozy and usually falls asleep. This is great considering the above (he sleeps good next to mom or dad!), and I still am able to manage getting things done.  I'm a baby wearing mama, so on all our outings you will find him hanging out with me marsupial style.

Just like Aubri, the minute the car is off or we set his car seat down, he is awake! I don't understand how everyone else's babies seem to just chill in their car seat. Since I'm a baby wearing mama, it isn't really a big deal for me, but a little funny. I will say we have had amazing luck out to eat a couple of times with him sleeping in the car seat, but that is about it.

In the past couple of days he has started to coo and smile more! I love it! And I also love the little dimples he has! Too cute!

Fortunately without nursing problems, we have no weight concerns. Unlike Aubri who we had to weigh before and after every feeding for 6 weeks, this little guy hasn't seen a scale since he was 2 weeks. He is starting to chub up, and I'm kinda dying to know how much he weighs.  He is stretching out of his newborn sizes, but still having a hard time filling the 0-3 clothes- especially pants! Poor Ezra doesn't have quite the clothing selection his big sister had, so we are having a hard time picking cute outfits (especially since he tends to spit up as soon as we get him in clean clothes!)

Ezra loves the bath! He just looks around and takes it all in. I was brave the other day and let him join his sister in the bathtub. They both loved it! After he is clean, his hair fluffs up and gets a little wavy/curly. Cute little ducky!

As long as he isn't hungry, Ezra will let anyone hold him. Whew!! Aubri went on a stranger strike from 2 weeks until 3 months- no one but Mommy and Daddy could hold her without screams. I'm glad to share the snuggles!

Big sister Aubri continues to love on her brother. She always wants to hold him, kiss him, rub cheeks with him, see him.... I wish you could hear how she says "Little Bru--ther!" when she thinks he does something funny. "Little Bru--ther! Don't spit up anymore!"

Aubriella seems to get bigger and more mature everyday. I thought for sure she had a growth spurt because she feels so heavy, but after weighing her she has only gained maybe half a pound. She has the most amazing memory (she got it from her mama) and will remind us of things we promised days ago, "You told me that!", "You said we could."  Of course she tends to remember everything as she is climbing into bed.

Her vocabulary for sure is growing and she cracks us up with all she says.  Yesterday, her question all day was "Guess what Mom?"And then she'd proceed to tell me what she planned. She also has such personality and emotion behind all she says, "OH....MY....GOSH! Little brother just spit up!" And "What the HECK?!"  Oh my....She is quite the character. But, I know one day she is going to do great things! This girl has so much persistence and a strong will, she will achieve all she aims for. Lately I've been praying that her heart always remains for the Lord, and she will seek after serving Him. Watch out- when He uses her it is going to be awesome! In the meantime as we discover what God's will is for her, I pray for patience every day, no every hour, as we figure out how to guide our little spit-fire!

Well there is an update on the kids- pictures will be added soon!

Life is Good

It has been way too long since an update. Things are great, but I haven't made time to post. Somehow I am still surprised how much time a tiny little being can take! Jose is half way done with his paternity leave, and we are loving our family time! We still haven't figured out what our new "normal" life looks like, but for now normal is cuddling in bed till 9, showering around 10, and maybe getting out the door at noon! Ahhhh....

Mr. Ezra is as sweet as can be. He is the perfect addition to our family. He is a great, mellow baby. He is allllll boy! He poops all the time, burps easy, and loves to eat around the clock. I feel like I am always nursing, but that is just fine with me. I prefer this to the nursing/latch problems we dealt with when Aubri was a newborn.

Big Sister Aubri couldn't be more in love with her brother. In fact we hear her say 20x's a day "I love Little Brother!" She loves to hold him, kiss him, touch him, and talk to him. She is the best big sister!

Birth Story

I am so excited to sit down and write down our birth story! Since Ezra was born one week ago, Jose and I have talked about it and recalled specific memories. Just as with Aubri, our birth was an incredible and even enjoyable experience! I am so thankful to God for blessing us with healthy babies. I am also very grateful that we learned about the Bradley method of natural childbirth and were able to use the tools and techniques to achieve the labor we wanted.

But...be warned- It will be long (I don't want to forget anything!) and I'm a birth educator who loves the details and doesn't find too much to be TMI. For those of you who love a good birth story, read on!

The days leading up:

It all started Friday, March 16th which happens to be the day I had hoped I would go into labor (like John 3:16 and also the birthday of a dear friend of ours). I had felt braxton hicks here and there for a week or so, but that afternoon I started to lose my mucous plug and felt a few more BH contractions. As a good instructor, I knew not to get my hopes up as these things don't tell you much about when labor will begin.

The following morning Aubri left with my parents on a trip to Colton, for my grandma's birthday party. I woke up that morning feeling crampy and showing signs of my bloody show. It wasn't enough for me to tell my parents and Aubri not to go, but I was nervous all morning that they would get to their destination 4 hours away and have to turn around. Jose and I had the day to ourselves and were out the door about 9 am. We stopped at a car sales event hoping to find what we were looking for, peaked in the local birth fair (we didn't want to spend $10 so we didn't actually go to it), then had a nice time at Starbucks. The weather was rainy and cold so we didn't have too many options of what we could do. Since every time I walked I was getting contractions (and really didn't want labor to start with the family away) I thought the best way to spend the day was to relax. We rented a movie and took it easy all day! A rare treat not having to entertain a 2 year old.

Sunday morning, March 18th, rolled around and again I was feeling cramping and knew I could feel my body "gearing up" for labor. We went to church, did all our normal Children's pastor duties, had lunch with friends, and came home. Aubri took a 2 1/2 hour nap which was a miracle as her longest naps are usually 1 hour and 15 minutes! I took advantage of her resting and napped myself. Of course at bedtime she was so wound up and not even remotely tired! I had pity on Jose who usually puts her to sleep, and joined him in the story time and bedtime. The three of us laid in her bed, or more accurately Jose and I laid in her bed, well she tossed and turned and jumped and sang and poked and kicked. I remember laying there thinking it wouldn't be just the three of us for long, and smiling to myself soaking in her silly behavior despite the break in protocol! About half an hour into her attempted bedtime I started noticing stronger contractions that seemed to be coming often. When she finally fell asleep about 9 pm, Jose and I left her room and I told him that I was still feeling contractions. We decided to start timing them while we watched TV and realized they were coming every 8-10 minutes. They only lasted 30-45 seconds and I knew we could still have a loooong way to go if this labor were to be like Aubri's. About 10:30 we decided we better get to bed if this was labor (and we were pretty sure it was) and get what little sleep we could. We texted our mom's to be ready and got in bed. At bedtime contractions were 6-8 minutes apart. I tossed and turned trying not to be too excited, but I was going through my checklist in my head and playing out different scenarios. Because of the Group B Strep we knew we had to get to the hospital at least 5 hours before birth to get the 2 doses of antibiotics. We were both a little nervous about how we would know when it was time to go. Following Bradley method practice we wanted to do most of the laboring at home. I couldn't sleep so instead got up to shower at about 11:30. I ended up doing my hair and make-up because I wanted to be ready to go to the hospital just in case! The shower wore me out and the peace of mind knowing I was ready allowed me to sleep between the 6 minute contractions! I also decided at that time that my game plan would be to make it to my 10am scheduled appointment at the midwife's office and walk around San Luis Obispo laboring until it was time to go to the hospital.

Labor Day:

Monday morning, March 19th, Aubri woke us up at 7 am. Contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds. Aubri came to our room and we videotaped telling her that today was the day she would meet baby brother! For months we have told her what would happen when it was time. We have told her the story as we hoped it would play out over and over. I had prayed that it would go as we had prepared, and I was so excited that it was happening perfectly! My dad, Papa, would be watching Aubri, and we couldn't have planned it better than to go into labor on his days off. I texted our parents that today was indeed the day and told them we would call after the appointment. We stopped for breakfast at Jamba Juice and Papa met us to pick up Aubri. She was ready to go with her suitcase packed! I heard later that she took the story we had prepared her with to heart. She followed my dad around all morning and insisted he care for her!

After a busy morning of getting ready, contractions were happening about 3 minutes apart, but still easily managed by relaxing and staying still during them. We drove to SLO and kept saying over and over how things couldn't be going more smoothly. We laughed that Jose was able to drive the speed limit, and how different the drive was this pregnancy as opposed to the 85 mph we drove last time. Of course for the first time ever we were stuck in traffic! It was actually comical to us that we were having a baby and basically stop and go! When we got to the midwife office the elevator was broken and we had to climb the stairs! We were late for the first time to an appointment!

The nurse was shocked when I told her contractions were 3-4 minutes apart as she was doing my vitals. We met with Lisa who watched me have a contraction and encouraged us to go straight to the hospital which is connected to the office. I told her that it wasn't hard yet but she was insistent that things could pick up quickly and I needed at least 5 hours to get the doses of antibiotics. At 10:30 am, I agreed to a vaginal exam (something I decline at every appointment) to give us a more accurate indication of how labor was progressing. I told her I was hoping I was at least 2 cm. We were overjoyed when she said I was almost at 4 cm!! I was 50-60% effaced, and the baby was at -3 station. I couldn't believe how little hard work I had done to have so much progress! With Aubri I was 4cm when I got to the hospital, but had already been shaking, throwing up, and working HARD. Still I convinced the midwife--or maybe she just gave up--to let us walk around a bit before going. I didn't want to be at the hospital before active, late first stage.

Jose was a little resistant and wanted to go to the hospital, but agreed to support me if I felt like I needed to walk. He kept saying that he thought I just learned to handle labor better, and maybe this was active labor. He did such a good job coaching me through contractions, pointing out tension, and reminding me to relax. I kept telling him to save his energy! We started walking at this tiny, corner park but after a few laps around the homeless we decided to go downtown. We parked by the Habit, and the smell of hamburgers was amazing! I told Jose he should order lunch, and I took a few bites of his food. It was hilarious the comments he got on Facebook when he "checked in" to the Habit with his laboring wife. Nobody knew it was my idea! We also made another stop at Starbucks and decided we should go to the hospital.

About 12:00 we arrived at the hospital. At the nurses station I told them I thought I was getting there too early, but they said the midwife had told them to expect us (about an hour later we heard them on the phone with the midwife telling her that we had showed up). We were first given a room without a tub or shower and I was really disappointed. They said they would work on discharging someone and would try to open up the tub room for me.

About 12:30 my mom arrived. We had told her it was still early, but she didn't want to miss anything and came with cards and games in hand (like I requested). Even though I was handling contractions well, with contractions 2-3 minutes apart I didn't have the concentration for games like I thought. We called Jose's mom, Silvia and asked her to bring some movies. In the meantime I tried to stay upright and relaxed. We watched "A Baby Story" and I critiqued the laboring, screaming moms ;-).

Around 12:45 they moved me to the tub room and started the fetal monitoring for 15 minutes. The baby and contractions looked great! I had a few contractions 2 minutes apart, but then had a couple breaks with a 6 minute rest.

We had arranged to have Christina Landeros be our birth photographer, and she kept texting asking when she should come. Since I felt like we still had a long ways to go I kept telling her to wait, but finally around 1 pm told her she could head on up to capture the comfortable part of labor.

Like the midwife had warned me, it took over an hour for the nurses to get us checked in and the antibiotics ready. At 1:20 they finally were ready to start the administration of the penicillin. I'm not exaggerating that this was the worst part of labor for me. I HATE NEEDLES. The nurse did her best, but had trouble getting my blood flowing and the picc line in place. After wiggling it around, they had to do it again!!! A week later the only soreness I still have is my bruised arm! The penicillin hurts going in and my arm was aching. I felt like my arm was useless as I was so worried of hitting or tugging on the line. I thankfully only had to deal with the antibiotics for 30 minutes (but the picc line had to stay in for the next dose in 3 1/2- 4 hours).

About 2:30 Christina the photographer came and started snapping away. Silvia showed up shortly after that as well. Jose and I decided to walk around the hospital to see if things would pick up, and we walked to the gift store to buy a special gift for Aubri. By this point I was needing to stop when contractions hit, and a few times held on to Jose for support.

At 4:00 pm the on-call midwife, Helen (she delivered Aubri!) came in to check on us. She was amazed at how well I was managing labor. She told me she expected that after I got the 2nd dose of penicillin I would allow my body to take over and labor would start (getting the 2 doses is considered the safe amount to ensure the baby doesn't contract the infection and would help allow us to leave the hospital in less time and not make Ezra get his heel pricked). She told us she was leaving to have dinner and would hopefully see us that evening. My next dose of penicillin was scheduled to begin at 4:45.

Helen left, our photographer Christina left to grab some food, and my mother in law had stepped out. I went to the bathroom and labored on the toilet for a bit. Helen had recommended that I try that to speed up labor (sounds weird but very effective). Jose and I then decided to take another walk since we didn't have much time before the next round of antibiotics. At 4:20 I was putting on my sandals and felt a gush of warm water. It took me a second and I excitedly started saying "Oh my gosh! Wow!" Jose was trying to figure out why I was standing there stunned when I finally said my water broke. My mom, Jose and I were all standing there excited trying to figure out what to do since I was soaked! My mom paged the nurse, Jose is frantically texting Christina and calling his mom back! Within minutes of my water breaking contractions started coming, and they were strong! I was having to hold on to Jose for support, and at the same time we were trying to clean up the water from the floor and get me out of my wet clothes.

The nurse knew that labor was going to go fast and called Helen back right away. By 4:30 I had put on my delivery gown (I special ordered it thinking I would be wearing it for a long time) and was lying in bed getting very intense contractions. Everyone was scrambling and coming back in, and they could see the huge shift in intensity! I asked for the tub to be filled so I could labor in there (I knew it took about 45 minutes to fill so I wanted them to start it asap!). Jose wanted to change into scrubs, but I told him no I needed him by me! Since everyone was scrambling it took a couple of minutes for them to help me get comfortable in bed. By 4:35 we got in our groove, and I laugh looking back on our 3 minutes of perfect Bradley method team work! Jose was coaching me through contractions- rubbing my back and checking my relaxation. My mom was massaging my hands, and Silvia was massaging my feet (both listening to Jose telling them to make sure I was relaxed and not tensing). Our Bradley groove lasted maybe 2 contractions when I said I needed to use the bathroom. The nurse was concerned and asked "Do you feel the urge to push?? Be careful, I don't want you having that baby on the toilet!" That stopped me in my tracks because I realized that maybe it wasn't the need to go to the bathroom but the baby engaged! I still walked to the bathroom to pee, but quickly decided I needed to get checked.


Around 4:40, the nurse checked me and said I was 9 cm and almost completely dilated! I couldn't believe it! I was so happy I said, "Wow! Labor is easy!" To which everyone laughed. The birth team got ready to deliver the baby, and I got into pushing position. Only problem was I was feeling such an intensity to push and could already feel the stretching sensations that I got a little nervous and overwhelmed! Also, I hadn't had my second dose of antibiotics so I was nervous for Ezra to be born (they quickly started the dose even though it was early). And the stupid IV in my wrist was going to interfere with my ability to pull my legs back. I told the midwife that I wanted to push, but wanted to ease into it and didn't feel like pulling my legs back. She looked at me and said to trust my body and do whatever felt right. So just like that I was pushing sitting in the 45 degree reclined position.

Right away she told me Ezra was "right there!". Pushing was overwhelming feeling the burning and I shrieked a couple of times that it hurt. I was also really scared that I was going to the bathroom while pushing so I was holding back! Once the midwife assured me that I wasn't, I was able to give a couple a good push and Helen told me my baby was going to be born on the next contraction! Helen asked me to give little start and stop pushes which was great because I barely had to work! I reached down to feel Ezra's head, and soon his head was out! Jose had arranged to catch Ezra, so Helen starting giving him a step by step lesson how to do it. I just wanted my baby out, so I yelled "Jose, just pull him out!!!"
Seconds later, after less than 10 minutes of pushing, Jose placed Ezra on my chest.
IT WAS AMAZING! I couldn't believe how fast, and relatively easy, things had gone. I felt great and wasn't tired, nor had I broken a sweat! There was a concerning moment when Helen said I was bleeding a lot and had to push on my stomach reallllly hard. I also heard the nurse talk about pitocin, and I started praying that the bleeding would stop without the need for intervention. Thankfully it did, and Helen told me I hadn't even torn!

Ezra came out screaming and alert! I remember thinking "Uh-oh he's a crier!" and Praying, " God, I thought we agreed on a mellow baby" (which he has turned out to be!). We had over an hour of skin-to-skin bonding and nursing.
My mom quickly had Papa and Aubri on the phone and told them to come right away.

When Aubri arrived I got up to change, and we anxiously waited for her to walk in. She was exactly as I expected her to be. Slightly shy with all the attention and camera on her, but the biggest smile. She was nervous seeing my picc line still attached, but loved looking at her little brother. Right away she saw the chair in the corner and said "Mommy told me about that." In our practice birth story I told her how when she came she could sit in the chair and hold baby brother. Of course that is what she wanted to do! It was a sweet time seeing her so enthralled by her brother. I will never forget how she copied all the noises he made and would say "Baby brother make _____ noise!" Or how she randomly made a funny face back at him and said she was going to teach him how to laugh. When he later made a noise sounding like a laugh she said "I taught him!!"

We had a room full of visitors that night, and then attempted to get some rest (yeah right!). Even though we were told we would have to stay at the hospital 24-48 hours to be evaluated, the nurses, midwife, and even pediatrician trusted our judgement, experience and parenting skills and agreed to let us go when we wanted! At noon, only 24 hours from checking into the hospital we were on our way!

I couldn't be happier with how our labor and birth went, and even though the midwives can say "I told you so" for us not going straight to the hospital, everything worked out perfectly! It was an amazing experience and memory that I will never forget!

40 weeks!

By far this was the best week ever! Our son came 2 days early. We are so blessed, so happy, and already so in love! It is so sweet to see Aubri with her "liddle brudder."

Rest assured that a detailed birth story is coming soon, and lots of pictures. For continuity of the weekly posts, I'll let you know that I didn't gain any weight this week (actually I did temporarily, but somehow lost it at the final weigh-in labor day morning. My final weight gain was 30 pounds. However in the last couple of days, I'm convinced our scale has stopped working correctly. Because for some reason it says I have only lost 8 pounds since birth! You've got to be kidding me!!

***NEWS ALERT***

No I'm not in labor. Just wanted to say I have a great, amazing, perfect-for-me husband. The bathrooms are sparkling and pristine! I sure didn't have the energy to get on my hands and knees and scrub the corners and toilet bowls, but he took care of it. Annnnnnd, not only is the "kids" bathroom clean, it got a makeover! Bye-bye college apartment pink and black (holy moly just realized that stuff has lasted since 2004!). Hello elephants! I know it sounds weird, but trust me it looks cute, and will look even better when I have time to do some projects in there.

Happy, happy mama. Did you hear that Ezra? To-do list:DONE. You are welcome to come anytime.

ONE MORE WEEK! 39 weeks

I can't believe it!! We are soooo close! I'm being pretty patient, but it sure would be nice to know exactly when he is coming!

I've got to admit I've started whining a bit this week. I think I'm entitled to it since I have done so well for 38 whole weeks. I finally feel "really pregnant." Little Ezra hasn't had a desire to drop (or "engage in the pelvis" if you are into real pregnancy terms ;-) and he is really sticking under my ribs! I have to sit up to be comfortable, but good posture isn't a strength of mine and my back starts hurting. The good news is the back ache goes away as soon as I lay down for a bit--or get a massage from Jose. It is getting harder to get Aubri in and out of the car, or up and down off the toilet, and I've realized how many times I get up and down off the floor with her! Good exercise but it's exhausting! Aside from that I still feel pretty darn good. I have plenty of energy, sleep perfectly, and haven't slowed down yet!

Speaking of slowing down.... I was reminiscing about my last pregnancy and 3 whole weeks of maternity leave before Aubri was born. I stayed in pajamas til 10, read books, and lounged around. Ahhhhh! OMGosh that sounds so foreign right now! Life has not slowed down a bit this time around, and I'm pretty happy with that. To me it shows me

1. A stay at home mom never gets a break

2. Following the Bradley diet and exercises reallllly makes a difference in how well you feel

3. I have the best job ever. Being the children's pastor is a dream come true. I spent the day in the office yesterday preparing for a tiny leave when the baby comes, and today got to meet with a bunch of area children's pastors and share ideas and suggestions. I plan on overseeing children's ministry Sunday morning, and if I haven't gone into labor by my due date, we are considering taking the Jr. Highers out for a pizza night that day. I love what I do, and am so glad that it is flexible that I can keep working!

My to-do list has a million things crossed off except for 2 things (deep clean the bathrooms and hem Ezra's curtains). I don't think they will get done, but I'm okay with that. I feel accomplished at was done!

Hopefully it will be labor time soon! The bags are in the trunk, the house is picked up (won't last long!), the carpets are freshly shampooed and vacuumed, dishes are washed, laundry caught up....Come on Ezra! What are you waiting for?? I can't keep this up much longer!

38 weeks!!!!

First biggest news is that Ezra's room is as just about complete! We will fill the frames with pictures of him once he arrives, and hope to find an affordable rug soon, but all that is really missing right now is him! Come check out the progress!You got to stop and see the sign Jose's aunt made for us! It matches perfect and we love it!!Here are the thrift store frames we bought and spray painted. I made some fabric art with scraps we had left over in one of the frames, and aside from the $5 clock we found, this whole project cost $12! It totally fills up the room in person and makes it feel complete.
The crib bedding has arrived, and the fabric banner switched walls. My homemade mobile is only 1/2 done, but good enough for now!
We swapped out the old, faded brown curtains for these navy ones. Only problem is our window is such a weird size and they need some major hemming, My mom might bust out her new sewing machine, or I might get desperate and buy the hem tape/iron stuff.And here is the belly and Aubri at 38 weeks!

Today Aubri got her small magna doodle and wanted to "hear little brother". It took me a second to figure out what she wanted, but she was pretending it was a fetal monitor/doptone! She gets to "help" the midwives measure my stomach every appointment, and yesterday she even got to squirt the jelly on my stomach and use the doptone. It was cute that she found her own to use at home!

At my appointment yesterday I got to meet with the third midwife in the practice. Normally you rotate your appointments between the three, but we always go on Mondays (Jose usually has them off) and the 3rd midwife doesn't work that day. I wanted to make sure I got to see her at least once this pregnancy. I am SO glad that I did, because we got to talk for awhile and I feel very comfortable with her (I didn't think that I did from my last pregnancy). She is way laid back, and trusting of me and our natural birth desires. She even made the Group B Strep seem like no big deal and I'm much more comfortable now.

Now that I've met with this midwife, packed my bags, got the car washed, car seat assembled...and a million other things on my to-do and honey-do list, I feel relaxed and ready to meet Ezra. I would like to get past tomorrow (my birthday!), but really what better gift??

I am sleeping perfect, have yet to feel braxton hicks, have an outie belly button, can still put on my own shoes, can fit into my non pregnancy jeans, and depending on the time of day I gained about a pound this week (29 -30 pounds total).

As a last hurrah, and a final kid-free night for awhile, Jose and I went away this past weekend to Cambria Pines Lodge. We got the best deal, and while it is no Avila La Fonda, it was a huge, nice room. Cambria doesn't have much to offer on a Sunday afternoon we found out! We had the funniest time trying to find an open coffee shop. It was almost like we were being punked! Every coffee shop we walked up to closed minutes prior to us getting there. It was hilarious! One closed at 4:30, another at 5, then 5:30, and we finally got to the French Cafe 2 minutes til 6- when they closed! In between coffee shop attempts we would poke our head into the few open shops (two shops closed on us as we were walking up).

Included in our overnight package was dinner at the hotel. It was the best meal I've had in a long time- Surf and turf steak and shrimp. YUM!! Jose teased that every bite I took I made the same excited face like it was the first time I was trying it. It was sooo good! And you can't beat the price! After a good buffet breakfast (also included) I was eager to get home and wrap up the to-do lists.

When we went to pick up Aubri at Nana and Papa's she insisted we leave again because she hadn't had time to go to the park like they promised. We obliged (to the sound of her cheers!) and left to get some things done while she hung out longer with my parents! She was excited to unpack her suitcase and get it ready for her next overnight stay with them- when baby brother comes! She made sure she has her big sister shirt, a blanket to give him, and 2 newborn diapers she wants to take him (she loves getting his diapers and saying "Awww. Cuuuute!! They sooo tiny" I wonder who she learned to mimic? ;-)