Ivy's baby blessing

Ivy is such a special and beautiful baby to us. We really wanted to be able to have a little bit more family around to take part in our babies special day so we decided to do the blessing in Utah this time around. It was a pretty last minute decision to do this but it worked out very nicely and we have my family to thank for a lot of that!  We had the blessing at my parents house and my sister Alli pretty much planned and carried out the entire event for us! We just showed up and enjoyed:) She did all the food prep and planning with some help from my mom but I honestly did nothing. I am so thankful for them and was so impressed with everything they did.

Here are some pictures from that day.

I ordered her blessing dress from a girl that makes them locally in Sandy and had my sister pick it up for me the day before the blessing. Luckily it fit! I loved her dress so much! Thanks Lilly J Design's!

The AMAZING table arrangement and food that My favorite sister Alli put together.

It was also just a gorgeous day outside. Isla was soaking it up.

My cousin Christi and I. We have babies just a month apart. They are already little friends.

Some of my cousins that were able to come. I don't get to see them very often but when I do it's great!

Steve's awesome parents who are always inspiring me to do better.

And thanks to Scott for coming and bringing the older Kiddo's. It was so fun to have them!

My wonderful parents who do so much for my little family. 

My lovely sister, always so cool, stylish and helpful! Love you BFF!

Families are truly forever thanks to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. We are so grateful. 

So the day was amazing and the blessing was perfect. It was nice to be around so many people we love and care about. 

Halloween 2013

HALLOWEEN 2013

Isla was an adorable BYU cheerleader and Ivy was a classic cute pumpkin. This was a fun Halloween for us since we think Isla had a lot of fun trick-or-treating this year. She probably could have cared less about dressing up and in fact would have probably been happier walking around town in her pajamas. We think she looked pretty cute though. Ivy was just glad to be warm and cozy since she was only a couple months old.

Isla 20 months

Ivy 2 months old

Isla is a loving big sister. She is always wanting to help with anything Ivy needs.

Steve loved taking Isla trick-or-treating. It is so nice to have such a great husband that probably gets more excited about Halloween than Isla does:)

So our neighborhood is a popular trick-or-treating neighborhood. People actually drive here from all over Mesa and park in our church parking lot to trick-or-treat. There is one street in particular where the houses literally have lines of people leading up to each door step. The people that live in these houses generally sit outside to hand out candy or else their front door would be permanently open.

 It's quite an experience to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. We have a lot of neighbors that go all out with the decorations. It's sort of like the movie Christmas vacation but Halloween style.

This house was the best. The lit up faces you kind of see actually sing along to music. Their mouths move so it looks like they are really saying the words that are sung to any song and they light up to the beat.

 We also had a ward trunk-or-treat that had pony and train rides. Such a fun Halloween for our family.

Ivy's birth announcement

This was Ivy's birth announcement.

Ivy's birth story

I had my doctors appointment on Thursday the 29th and my due date was the next day. I had already had my membranes stripped the two previous appointments and I got them stripped again that day. I was dilated to a four and almost 90% effaced when I left the doctors office around 11:30 that afternoon. Not even an hour later I started noticing my contractions coming closer together and more often than normal, maybe every 15-20 minutes or so. We had a busy day planned that day, my mom had gotten here just the day before and we were running some errands and going to dinner that evening at my favorite restaurant, Tia Rosas. 

Around the time we went to dinner (about 6:00 pm) I started timing my contractions, they were consistently about 10 minutes apart at that point and by the time we left dinner about 8 minutes apart.  I was somewhat in denial that I was actually going into labor (even though it was early labor) because I didn't feel the contractions were painful enough to be labor. 

We got home and put Isla down for bed and started a movie. It was hard to pay attention to the movie because my contractions just kept coming closer together and I started to get excited that this baby was getting ready to be born. By the end of the movie they were 5 minutes apart and getting more painful. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible since my plan was to not get the epidural. I got in the bath (which really helped) then got ready and started packing my hospital bag.

Leaving for the hospital.

Finally my contractions were around 2-3 minutes apart around 11:30 pm and since my doctor recommended I head in when they were 5 minutes apart we decided to go:)

We left the house at 12:00 am exactly the day of my due date, how crazy is that. As we were driving to the hospital my contractions really amped up and decided to get seriously painful! We got to the hospital and went right into triage, my contractions at that point were 2 minutes apart but I was only dilated to a 4 1/2 and they wanted to keep me in triage for as long as possible because the hospital was so busy with babies being born that night. In the hospital they play a little lullaby over the speakers every time a baby is born and we heard three in a five minute period plus a lot more throughout the night!

I  was experiencing insane labor pain and walking around for a while in triage. I listed to my hipno birthing CD's which helped a lot until I started experiencing really bad back labor along with everything else. The baby was posterior I believe? Any way, after an hour and a half in triage I couldn't take the pain any more, I felt like I was getting no relief and just wanted to cry every time a contraction ended because I knew another one would be coming again shortly.

I yelled (literally) for the nurse and told her I needed to be checked in immediately so I could get the epidural. At that point I was dilated to a 5 1/2 and almost 100% effaced. They got me back pretty fast and I got the epidural:)

After that I just tried to sleep for a bit which didn't happen but Steve had no problems with that at all. He was out quick (this was around 2:00 am). About an hour later my Doctor came in to check me. He was already there and had just delivered two babies right before me. I was dilated to a 7 at that point so he broke my water. A little less than an hour after that I started to feel some serious pressure and right as I started to think about calling the nurse my Doctor walked back in to check me again. Sure enough I was dilated to 10 and 100% effaced! The Doctor wanted me to start pushing so I attempted to wake Steve up. I say attempted because he was very hard to wake up, I tried multiple times before it actually worked:) 

One I started pushing it went pretty quick and easy. I was pushing for about an hour and pretty tired because I had been awake all through the night at this point and used every ounce of energy I had and it wasn't producing much result in my head. Finally the doctor asked if he could use the suction thing because I was so close I just needed a little extra help. I was nervous about that because it sounded dangerous and scary but he reassured me by telling me it was totally safe and I could have her out in only one more push.... I was sold when I heard I only had to push one more time:)

He was right! One more push and our beautiful baby Ivy was born at 6:35 am! The umbilical cord was pretty short and wouldn't reach all the way up to my chest so I waited patiently for Steve to cut it and then I met her:) She had the darkest hair and cutest face. I felt instantly connected to this girl. (Totally opposite from the previous time), see previous birth story here.

Everything about this experience was easier! The labor, the birth, EVERYTHING, and how grateful I am for that.

A few hours after Ivy was born we introduced her to her big sister. Isla wanted nothing to do with this small human and insisted upom throwing a major temper tantrum on the floor of our room right then. (Pic below).

We had to kind of distance her from Ivy at first so she would be happy again. She sure is a daddy's girl in every way. Steve played with her a bit to cheer her up.

We had heard from various people that it was a good idea to give the older sibling a gift when a new baby arrives so that they can feel special in the hospital so once Isla calmed down and was happy again we gave her her present.

A new stroller for her little baby doll. She loved it so much and had so much fun taking her baby on walks with dad around the hospital halls.

The only way we could get Isla to sit by Ivy was to show her Elmo video's on the phone. One and only picture of them sitting by each other in the hospital.

Getting her ready to take home.

I am happy to say now Isla loves Ivy and loves to walk around the house pointing at everything that is Ivy's saying "baby Ivy, baby Ivy!" Everything is going really well for us and are growing family and we are so grateful for that.

Ivy Sue Murray

It seems only fitting that I am up in the middle of the night working on this post! I can't complain though, I have a cute new baby sitting in my lap just looking around at the new world she lives in!

Ivy was born promptly on her due date of August 30th, 2013 at 6:35 am.

She weighed 8lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long. Close to a pound bigger than Isla but same height.

One of my favorite things about her is her dark hair!! I am obsessed with it, I really didn't think genetics would allow us to get a dark haired baby even though I have darker hair now I was super blonde upon birth and so was Steve. She also has a little bit darker skin and I'm hoping she gets both of our blue eyes! I think she is absolutely beautiful and so far she has been the best baby! 

We chose Sue as her middle name after my amazing mother! She has always been such an example to us and is here now helping out so I can keep my sanity while adjusting to two kids. It was the perfect name choice! I am so so grateful for a safe, easy delivery and healthy girl (story to come), and am just enjoying every tired, blissful second of having a new baby to cuddle with while she learns the difference between night and day:)

Isla at 18 months

It is so weird to me that this will be my last post with Isla as an only child! She is such an amazing , energetic little girl that is constantly surprising me. The word that comes to my mind the most is silly when I think about her. She loves to be silly and run around doing silly things. She is always so happy and her smile will melt my heart. She definitely has her "dramatic girl moments", but I can't help sometimes but just laugh when she throws herself down on the floor dramatically and cries her little fake cry over something so mundane.

First day of nursery! She did really well, we just dropped her off and picked her up two hours later. Simple as that!

 One thing that her nursery teacher told me after her first day of nursery was that she was the only kid in the group that could point out Jesus in all the pictures that they were showing during the lesson that day. This surprised me for two reasons, one: She is the youngest obviously because it was her first day and two: I have never really taught her how to do that. I honestly had pointed out the picture of Jesus in the foyer at church one time before and we have a picture of Jesus in our house that I have pointed out a total of twice to her. She just picks up on things so fast I don't even know how to keep up with her.

She loves trying on any shoes left around the house or going into her room and pulling out all of her shoes and trying to get them on.

She loves her "shwimming suite" as she calls it and "sun lasses". Would wear them all day if I let her.

 At her 18 month appointment her doctor said with kids as tall as she is that they may be a lot more comfortable forward facing now rather than waiting until two. This has definitely been the case with Isla. She is so tall her poor little legs looked like frog legs facing back in the car. Also the seat belt would dig into her leg and cause her pain so we took the plunge and she is now happily facing forward in the car. So much more comfortable for her!

We have been doing A LOT of swimming this summer. If you would have asked me a few months ago if having a pool was worth it I would have said no without hesitation. They are ridiculously hard to upkeep and expensive for the amount of time you actually use it! I have changed my mind though... I have never been so grateful to have a pool in my life right now! This has been one of Isla's favorite activities for the last two months. We literally go out swimming every day if not twice a day. It's been great because it's so hot outside there is not much else to do and it sure felt good on my achy pregnant belly and back! It entertains Isla and keeps her occupied and thanks to the miraculous puddle jumpers that have been invented I don't need to hold her and she can do her own thing!

Isla in her puddle jumper.

 She is such a great little swimmer with her puddle jumper on. She knows how to hold her breath under water and kick her legs to get around places. The only thing I worry about is that because she is so comfortable in the water with her puddle jumper on she thinks she can do anything in the water with it off too. She is quit fearless and will jump in without a moments hesitation so I just have to always have her float on her and thank goodness for our fence we have now!

Just being silly

She is getting so big.

Isla at 18 months:

• Starting to put short sentences together. Like " bye bye daddy" or " I got you" or my personal favorite "I love you"!
• Climbs everything she can possibly attempt to climb.
• 100th % for height, 40th % for weight and 10th % head circumference.
• Favorite activity is reading books.
• In the process of learning her colors. She can point out the color yellow, white and purple and also pronounces those three colors very well.
• Loves to play ring around the rosie's and do the actions for "wise man" a song she learned in nursery.
• Loves to dance and give hugs and kisses.
• Still loves to watch videos on youtube like Sesame Street, The Muppet's and Baby Einstein. 
• LOVES shoes, bows and looking at pictures/ video of herself.

It is such a blessing having Isla as our daughter. It it also a great blessing to have Steve as her father, he is an amazing father. He always knows how to make Isla happy and have a good time as evidence from this video.

Baby #2, I'm ready for you!!!

40 weeks!

So I started this post before Ivy was born... Just wanted to get it up here.

I wanted to document this pregnancy before I forget all about it (or at least try to) in the coming months after the baby comes. Not that it has been an incredibly difficult pregnancy by any means, just that I flat out do not enjoy being pregnant in general. I am grateful to be able to get pregnant and have babies, and I am so excited and nervous to meet new little baby Ivy (That is her name btw) very, VERY soon.

First trimester...

One word. Crappy
I do get pretty sick in the first trimester like most women do. I would say that I was able to manage it a little better this time around because I was able to be home and eat a snack anytime I felt ill. I also lost my appetite completely. NO food tasted good. The nausea part lasted a little bit shorter this time while my loss of appetite lasted a little longer. Nothing too crazy though.

Second trimester...

Very bearable.
I have done a few things differently this time around, one of them being work out! (I did not work out at all last pregnancy. oops). I feel like this has been the biggest difference. I have always felt like I have more energy and that I am a lot healthier. I would work out about 4 times a week during the second trimester. This slowed down a little in the third but I never stopped completely until a few weeks ago when I felt I needed to cancel my gym membership because Isla was not getting cared for properly enough in my opinion at their kidscare. I plan on signing up again at another gym once my 6 weeks after birth is up.

Third trimester...

Back to crappy.
In some ways I have felt amazing in my third trimester, because of the gym I'm sure. In other ways out of my control I have been way worse. I just seem to be getting every illness that I can think of. I think I already mentioned this but I got the flu, 2 viruses, food poisoning and currently a really bad cold/sore throat thing. Other than those things I have been verily good and comfortable up until a week ago. I am currently at 39 weeks! I have only gained 32 pounds (I gained about 48-50 last time). I am dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced... The doctor has stripped my membranes twice. Come on baby, I'm ready for you!

That's about it for the pregnancy. One thing that I am going to try and do this time around is have a natural birth (in the hospital). A home birth does sound appealing to me and if I was guaranteed a safe delivery I would do it in a heartbeat! I'm not high risk patient or anything, I just would never forgive myself if something were to happen at home. I understand things can still happen in the hospital but I feel a little safer there.

I have been listening to Hypno birthing CD's for the last few months learning how to relax during contractions. It has been a very pleasant experience and makes me look forward to giving birth. I feel like my last labor/ delivery was incredibly difficult and the thing that I remember most about it was not the pain, but the sheer exhaustion from being in labor so long and pushing for over three hours! I am hoping what they say is true about the second time going faster. I was also induced last time which I feel added to the length of time I was laboring since my body didn't do it naturally. Not that doing it "all natural" will make it any easier, I'm just looking for a different kind of experience this time around. Wish us luck!

(Future note: I totally caved and got the epidural)! Made me a much more pleasant person to be around.