Welcome Baby Bella

Thursday, March 18th at 1:38 pm Bella Lee finally decided to join our family. She weighed a whopping 8 lbs, 2 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

Thursday was the first day of March Madness so Joel and I had lots of games to watch while waiting for Bella. We even posted our brackets in the room with us so we could keep track during our stay. There were too many upsets this year, knocking me out. Boo, for Kansas and Villanova, you did me wrong!I was admitted to the hospital at 9:00 pm Wednesday night for "prep work" and by Thursday morning I was ready to be induced. But luckily with all the "prep work" an induction wasn't necessary as I was in labor, so we let nature take it's course. It was an easy labor and delivery, thanks to all the amazing doctors and nurses and the epidural of course. They made the delivery room feel very casual which made Bella's arrival that much more enjoyable.

(thank you epidural for making me feel good)

Unfortunately Bella decided to go poopie before coming out (meconium) and her cord was wrapped around her neck, so it created a tiny bit of stress. But she has passed all her test with flying colors and is doing great. Nursing is going well (three cheers for not needing to lug a pump everywhere we go) and although she's not really on a schedule yet, she's allowing us some sleep during the night, which is much needed.

Beau is very indifferent toward Bella. I'm not sure he realizes she's here, but he is getting pretty good at saying Baby and Bella. Hopefully as she grows he'll take more interest in her and they'll become great friends.

Oakdale Cheese with Daddy

About a week ago Joel, Beau and I took a trip to Oakdale Cheese. Beau was itching to get out of the house and Joel had never been there. Unfortunately they had just closed, but we were still able to feed the animals and run around the yard. Even though Beau suffered a little tumble, making us feel like horrible parents, he still had a lot of fun being out doors and seeing all the animals. He's still a little scared to feed them on his own. Maybe next time.


After Oakdale Cheese we headed to Round Table pizza to try to induce labor because Joel had read on The Elson's blog they tried that as well, and as you know... NO SUCH LUCK!!! But the pizza was really good.

Pregnancy Update

I'm still pregnant...

Last week during our 40 week check up our doctor recommended we schedule an induction for this week (41 weeks). Joel and I went ahead and scheduled the induction, hoping and praying I'd go into labor on my own. If not, we'd be seen one last time (today), hoping that I'd made progress and we could cancel the induction. Unfortunately we discovered that I haven't made any progress in the past 6 weeks and so we are going to move forward with the induction.

So, I'm being admitted to the hospital tomorrow night (Wednesday) for... well let's just say "prep work." If all goes well this prep work will send me into labor on my own. If not, they'll start me on pitocin to get my contractions going and hopefully by Thursday sometime we'll have a new baby.

We are obviously bummed that this baby doesn't want to come out on his/her own, but we are thrilled that there is finally an end in sight. We look forward to meeting our new addition and introducing him/her to you.

Here is my 40 week picture. Although the scale hasn't changed much, I think my face continues to grow bigger and bigger. What up with dat? .... oh What up with dat? (that's for all you SNL lovers out there).

Cousins

Back in September the Arrighi family had a little photo shoot with Tessa McDonald (Trevor's sister). Beau joined the cousins for a few pictures. Unfortunately Beau wasn't really in the mood to be photographed, but I still love these pictures...crying and all. Cousin Kylie couldn't make it. Maybe next year we'll have all the cousins together for a picture.

from left to right: Owen (age 5), Kate (age 1), Beau (age 1), Leah (age 4)

Still Pregnant

Yes, here I am two days away from my due date and still pregnant. I know I shouldn't really complain since I haven't yet reached my due date, but I was spoiled with Beau, having him 7 days early. Joel and I are READY!!! This baby can't come soon enough. Hopefully my next pregnancy blog is announcing the arrival of our little one rather than my 40 week picture. So... this entry catches you up on all that's been going on the last 4.5 months. Hope you enjoyed catching up with me.

(from left to right, weeks 36-39)

Shower Fun

A few weeks ago we had a Mother / Daughter baby shower for Lisa and Baby Audrey. It was great seeing all my girlfriends and their mothers, as well as a few of the new babies. In these pictures below, there are 3 of us that are pregnant and 3 babies... Beau and Baker are the only two missing.

Later that evening, the Noma's surprised Joel and I with a diaper baby shower. Our families got together for a fun fondue filled night and Kimi made an amazing cake, half pink and half blue. Those cake decorating classes sure are paying off and it tasted great. She's a natural.

Beau's New Hat

Check out Beau's new hat Nana made him. Awe... He's such a cutie!

Rock Star!

I think we may have a rock star on our hands. It could be because of all the John Mayer videos he watches with Daddy, but we like to think it's pure natural talent. If you ever want to stop the crying, just put on some music or even better, a concert on TV. Here Beau and Daddy had a little jam session.

A few side notes: Don't mind our disaster of a house...what do you expect? I'm pregnant and have a 1 year old. Also, do you like his hair cut (compared to the Sea Ranch photos)? I cut it myself. Wait... in that case, don't look too close.

Beau vs. The Bathtub

...The bathtub won.

We have a towel down in front of the tub so we can kneel on it during Beau's baths. This particular day, he ran in full speed to the tub, the towel moved backwards as his face moved forward directly into the tub. Poor guy. His lip swelled immediately and his gums were bleeding and he was left with a nasty bruise on his gums. Fortunately his two front teeth weren't in at this point, otherwise they may have been knocked out. He's such a trouper, it always amazes me how quickly he can recover from injuries such as these. He's my big boy.

Like Mommy Like Son

Cousin Ami and Ethan gave Beau a vacuum cleaner which Joel didn't think Beau would like very much. Much to Joel's surprise and my pleasure, Beau loves it. Every time I vacuum he gets out his vacuum and helps to clean the house.

Sea Ranch Fun

For Joel's 30th Birthday, we took our very first family vacation by ourselves. We went to Sea Ranch and had so much fun introducing Beau to a playground, the ocean and the wide open space and beauty of the coast. As as you can in all the pictures, Beau wouldn't go anywhere without his football. Good thing we remembered to pack it.

Christmas Day

Although Beau didn't quite understand the concept of Christmas, it was a lot more fun this year as he was at least able to help open his gifts.

Beau received this fun shapes puzzle from The Harrington's. And spent a good portion of the morning mastering it.

Daddy bought Beau a few tops and they had a blast seeing them light up and spin around the kitchen.

Beau didn't want to let go of the new balls he received on Christmas Eve.

Once we got to Nana & Grandpa Jim's house, we ate Gumbo and Beau and Cousin Nick sang Karaoke.

Beau found himself a seat (this rocking chair) and hung out watching the older kids sing away.