Some (beautifully done) newborn pics!

My dear friend, Mindy Weston offered to do a newborn photo shoot for Joslyn and they turned out beautifully!!!!! Joslyn was 13 days old when these pictures were taken and Lydia was 21 months old.

1 Month

This little cutie has grown so quickly in such a short amount of time! I'm sure she weighs well over ten pounds, but it's been since she was 2 weeks old since I weighed her. She has outgrown her newborn clothes, which just amazes me. I compared her 1 month pics with Lydia's and they looks so similar! They have very few differences. 

She's here!!

Announcing the arrival of our newest family member Joslyn Dahle! She joined our family on July 13, 2016 at 4:04pm and was 7lbs 11oz and 20.5in long. She is absolutely perfect and so was my pregnancy, labor, and delivery with her. My plan was to do a natural birth because I received an epidural with Lydia and I did it!!! IIIII did it. It was amazing. When the midwife told me that I was only 6cm dilated I was discouraged, and then Joslyn was born in less than 20min. Amazing!!! They put me in the tub to help me to relax and before I knew it I had the urge to push. They rushed me back to the bed and she was out after 2 pushes. I am truly grateful for how the whole process happened. I had Karl, Lisa (best friend), Marie (midwife), and Janelle (nurse) all there to support and help me. They all did their individual jobs perfectly and I am so grateful I had THAT team with me that day. Thank you to all!!!!

Picture time!!!

This is my best friend Lisa Orme and she is a wonderful human being.

Karl (hubby), Marie (midwife), and Janelle (nurse)

We are a family of 4!!!

Third Trimester

4/10/16

Time is flying by so quickly with the pregnancy! I am loving every minute of it. I really do have the best pregnancies (and I can brag because this is MY blog haha!). I had my 24 week appointment with my midwife and I measured at 27 weeks, which she thought was interesting. My midwife said goodbye that day because she moved to Rhode Island and I now have a new midwife and her name is Marie. She is such a sweetheart and I am really excited that she is on this journey with me. She honors my abilities (as a reflexologist) and the fact that I am doing hypno-birthing during this pregnancy. She really is so great and has a calm temperament, which I need during my birthing time. 

5/8/16

A couple weeks ago I had my 28 week apt and had to take the glucose test. I hate that test, but I passed! During that appointment my midwife told me that I was again measuring 3 weeks ahead and I thought that was interesting...again. During my previous check-ups I have measured right on schedule with the due date, so I talked to my mom. She said that she was the same way with most of her babies. She just grows fast, I guess! My midwife and I are not worried, but during my next apt she said that if I still measure ahead then she wants to do an ultrasound to see if there is anything wrong. Fine with me! I'll be able to see my baby's face again. Yay! 

My goal during the entire pregnancy has been to stay active (which was hard during the winter months) and so far it's been great! I've done at-home work outs and up until I was 25 weeks or so I was running (and now I miss it) and I have started going to Zumba. There is an awesome lady in my town that offers free Zumba classes and I know that I'm not doing all of the moves perfectly, but I am moving and sweating and I love it!! She plays more modern songs than Hispanic ones, and I like that because I like to sing along. 

I feel really good about my little active baby right now because I finally have a favorite name for her picked out!!! It won't be final until we see her face in the hospital, but I feel more connected to her by at least having an idea of a name for her. The name fits her personality and it fits Karl's and my requirements--Easy to pronounce (because Karl is a teacher), not as common-but still common, not any same name as anyone in my immediate family. That's really hard because I have to factor in 79+ people's names. that has nothing to do with cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. 

We are excited for this lady's arrival. Her due date is July 17th, but if she decides she is ready to come 3 weeks earlier, then I am okay with that! 

Gender Reveal

I forgot to put this picture on my last post, but here is the gender reveal! When I was 20 weeks pregnant I went to the midwife clinic and had the ultrasound. Afterward I wanted to do something special so I asked my friend to take a few pictures for me. Learning about this little one's gender was a surprise for Karl and me. We really thought we'd be having a boy, and we have had time to let the idea of another girl sink in and we are thrilled!!! 

I can already tell that she has a feisty personality because I have been feeling her kick since I was 10 weeks pregnant. The midwife didn't believe me, but I didn't care. I KNOW what I felt. She kicks and wiggles all day long and I love every minute of it. I can remember when I was pregnant with Lydia and she rarely ever kicked. She moved a lot, but only kicked once in a while. This girl will move around and get comfortable, but once I'm comfortable she finds a new place to hang out. I have a feeling she will stretch my belly as far as it will go. haha! 

Exercising during this pregnancy has been amazingly helpful! I have more energy on the days I work out and I feel more upbeat and happy. When I sleep I feel like I get more rest because I allow myself to get tired. (I hope that makes sense.) I am grateful to be healthy and happy and so grateful for this pregnancy! We have truly been blessed!!!

It's Another Girl!!!

I am currently 21 weeks along and I am feeling great! Everyday I pray for enough energy to keep up with Lydia and enough health to help this sweet baby grow. During my 20 Week Midwife appointment I had an ultrasound and found out that this sweet baby is a girl! To be completely honest, I thought that I was having a boy. It made me a little nervous because everything would be new and different, but also exciting because everything would be different. Well, we are definitely having a girl and we are thrilled! I am relieved because I don't need to buy anything new and that will save us money (which is always nice). 

We are still renting a house here in Ashton because we are waiting for our house in Cambridge to be sold. *fingers crossed* that it will get sold soon!!! The space we live in currently is comfortable, but the bedrooms are insanely small. I am praying everyday that our house will sell soon so we can move forward and progress here in Ashton. We love it here and hope to stay here forever!

Due July 17, 2016

We have some very exciting news!!!

I am pregnant! I have had a few signs of nausea, but it hasn't been that bad at all. I have been really blessed during this pregnancy. I pray every day that I will have enough energy to keep up with my little toddler who just loves to run around! She's crazy fun and is learning a lot. I just hope I stay up to the task. Right now my focus is to keep us alive, clean, and fed. So far so good!

This baby will be grandchild #34 on my parent's side and #12 on Karl's parent's side. So fun!!

Updates from Sept. to Dec. 2015

The first 6 pictures are from September. 

This is Lydia's favorite hiding spot in the house. I like it because it's low enough to be interesting and high enough to keep her away from the other books. I just keep it empty in there so she can play. 

These are from Mort's house and from Homecoming week. Karl dressed up as one of the characters from Hunger Games. It was pretty epic if you ask me.

This was the day that Lisa and I ran our first 10k. We have been training for a half marathon and I was surprised to get first place in my age group from the 10k. 

This shows how good of a climber Lydia is. She, currently, can climb onto our couch, over the back, and stand on the windowsill behind the couch. It's crazy!

There's always a TP picture in everyone's album right??

This is Karl and his brother Hans from Sandrailing in October at Mort's house. As you can see they had a blast.

This sweet baby had her 1-year shots and was really snuggly that day.

These two pictures were a very important day! It was Lisa's and my very first Half Marathon!! We ran 13.1 miles in Pocatello for the Just Cuz Half Marathon. Our times were pretty good and we felt awesome! Of course, I was walking like a penguin for a couple days, but it was definitely worth it. 

The St. Louis Zoo is the best because it is free and so beautiful! I am glad that Lydia and I got to visit Illinois for a week while Karl was at FFA Nationals in Kentucky. We flew back to Idaho on Halloween and had a really fun visiting family!

Elephants are our favorite!!!

We had a blast with my sister Michelle and her family and even took a trip to IKEA.

The day before Halloween was the trunk-or-treat at my parent's ward building and the chili cook off was really good. The judges/missionaries each year never vote for my dad as the winner, but it might be because they don't like sweet chili. But my dad makes the world's BEST chili. 

This was Lydia's first time touching snow. Little does she know that she will be seeing A LOT of snow in her life here in Idaho! haha!

Just before Thanksgiving Karl and I went snowmobiling with the Hammond Family and found a beautiful Christmas Tree. We decorated it and it fit perfectly in our little home. 

Lydia tried on Karl's boots and I think she's pretty close to being the same size as him! ;) haha! (He wears size 15...)

This little lady was trying to get my phone and I just wanted her to smile for the camera. Oh well, real life as a mom, I guess. 

At our ward Christmas party Lydia wanted water...I guess, a lot of water! 

We also let her talk to Santa, but it wasn't a long visit....

This was the first snowman that Karl and I have ever built together and I am grateful we got to share it with our lady.

Christmas morning was so nice just the three of us. We had fun with our traditions that we've combined from both of our families and it was such a relaxed and enjoyable day. 

During the afternoon on Christmas Day we took Lydia out snowmobiling for the first time ever (for 10 minutes) because she got new goggles for Christmas. They worked well, but this negative weather made her face get red really fast! We even pulled out a four wheeler that karl was fixing and pulled her on a sled behind it around the neighborhood. I think she liked it a lot. 

During our break I was making dinner and Lydia pushed her stool up to the counter and decided to help me. I love having her by my side!!!