Happy Anniversary!!

Yesterday was our 4th anniversary. I can't believe we have been married for 4 years already! Sometimes it feels like we were just married a few months ago...but then sometimes it seems like we have been married forever. (In a good way. :)) Like he has always been a part of my life and I can't imagine it any other way. Justin was able to get out of work early, so we went shopping for some new clothes for me (thanks baby!) and then we went to Flemmings, a really nice steak house in a ritzy part of town. We had a good time together and it was so nice to be able to spend some time alone away from the kids.

I didn't get to buy a present or a card or anything for Justin, but I want him to know how much I love him and appreciate all he does for our family. He works so hard to make sure we have the things we want and need. He is a wonderful husband and father and loves playing with Braxton and making him laugh. There are many things I could say, but for our 4 years together, here are 4 reasons why I love my baby:

1. I have always had a weakness for big, strong hands, and Justin has wonderfully big and strong hands. :) I always feel safe and protected when he is holding me or my hand.
2. Despite his rough and tough exterior, he has a soft heart and has a special weakness for the innocent and for big dogs.
3. He excels at everything he attempts to do. He is smart and has a keen mind and just knows how to do things, even if its his first time. I have always admired that characteristic about him.
4. He loves me and the kids so much and works hard to show us that. He is extremely loyal and protective of us and would do anything to keep us safe.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! I sure love you!!

Daily Life

Its taken some time to get back in the swing of things. I am still learning every day how to do old routines with a new baby. Like putting Braxton down for a nap. Its taken some time to learn the best way to do that with with a baby who seems to wake up just as Braxton is going down every day...and I'm still figuring it out. But overall we have managed to get back to daily life.

Braxton has done better than I expected him too. At least where Bella is concerned. He mostly just ignores her, until she is taking up attention from me that he wants. Feedings are the hardest. That is when he suddenly wants all my attention, and he has also figured out that is when he can get away with anything since i can't get up to stop him! He has had a couple melt downs and its so hard to just sit there and listen to him scream and not be able to do anything about it. Hopefully those will be over soon as we all adjust. On good days though and when he is happy, he loves giving her hugs and kisses and is always ready to be there to put her binkie back in her mouth when she starts to cry. He gets very concerned when he sees her without it! He is such a goof. He is also always is anxious to point out her eyes and nose and mouth and hair to me.

Bella is such a good baby. She of course has her fussy moments but overall she is just happy and loves to be held and talked to. I could swear that she is already trying to smile. Nights vary but usually she lets me get at least 4-6 hours, sometimes even a full four without a feeding. When she sleeps she makes the cutest noises and smiles at least once every minute when she is sleeping lightly. She is just a happy baby! We love her so much and can't wait to see what other joys she will bring to our family.

My beautiful boy and his lifeline...the binkie. :)

One thing is for sure...Justin and I make beautiful babies!!! :D


So pretty in purple... what an angel!

More of My Bella Rose

Some of these are kinda blurry...but you get the idea. No matter how many pictures I try to take of this precious girl, I can't seem to take one that does her justice. (May have something to do with my outdated camera..) She is just a doll! Hopefully I will catch her in all her beautiful glory soon, but until then these will have to do.

She looks so tiny layin on Daddy!

One of my friends/visiting teacher in my ward brought me dinner one night and with it this beautiful cake! It was so cute I had to take a pic. Thanks Tammy!

I just love it when she smiles! Which she does often in her sleep, and even sometimes a little when she is awake. She is such a happy baby (so far!) and always seems like she is on the verge of smiling. I love it.

You gotta love her long dark hair! I just sit and pet her head all day long...I am so in love.

Here are a few of B-rax when he was a baby. The first one in the stocking looks the most like Bella to me. They both definitely have their Daddy's nose!

And here is my baby boy all grown up, eatin his fishies and waiting for the doc to come and release me from the hospital. We ended up waiting about 4 hours for her to finally get there, and he was SUCH a good boy the whole time. I was so proud of my little man. I love my babies!

Bella's Story

My beautiful baby girl is finally here, and I truly feel blessed in how everything happened and how the labor and delivery went. It was seriously almost perfect. I started having contractions at about 4:00 Friday morning, and after about 2 hours, when they didn't stop, I started getting really excited. I literally was PRAYING for the next one to come cause I wanted it to be real and happening so badly! At about 8:00 they started coming about 5 min apart and getting stronger. Justin was going into work for just a little to make sure his team was set and ready for the weekend without him and then he was going to meet me at the hospital. Thankfully my sister was staying with us, so we got everything ready to go and left about 9:00.





ON OUR WAY!!





Braxton was going to go home with my sister and stay with my fam for the day, or however long he needed to. So we got to the hospital around 10:00, met Justin, said goodbye to B-rax and my sis, got checked in, and was in triage by about 10:30. The nurse checked me there and already I was at a 5.5 almost 6! Wahoo! The contractions were still about 5 min apart, and although they were definitely uncomfortable they were still manageable. I was so excited to hear I was at a 5, because that meant this was truly happening! I was for sure going to have this baby. Thank goodness! I was given a room and got the IV going, I got the epidural about 11:15, and the waiting game began.





Nice and Comfy and Pain free...just the way I like it! :)





Justin and I had a nice, relaxing afternoon and just enjoyed the moment and what was about to happen. Around 3:30 the doc (who I had never met but LOVED) broke my water, and at 3:40 I started to have alot of pain on my lower right side. I started freakin out, thinking maybe the epidural was wearing off, but the nurse checked me and said, "Nope, she is right there and its push time!! Lets have a baby!" Thats when the nerves set in for the first time that day, and I started getting a little emotional, knowing THIS WAS THE MOMENT!! I gave a few pushes, the doc came in and got ready, I gave a few more hard pushes and BAM she was out! I could never describe the feeling of that moment when they take your baby out and lay him or her on your chest and you get to finally see them for the first time in 9 months. Its one of the closest things to heaven here on this earth. What a special experience it is to be a mother and be able to have moments like that.








The nurses kept exlaiming how beautiful she was and couldn't get over how much hair she had! She did swallow a bit of fluid which had some meconium in it so that was a small worry for awhile, but she ended up being just fine.


Right after the birth. I'm such a baby! I couldn't help it though...and I question any woman who doesn't get emotional at the sight of her newborn child!





I tore a small amount so after the the doc stitched me up we got to just be with the baby for about an hour until we were moved into the recovery room. There my fam came to visit and brought Braxton to see his baby sister for the first time. He didn't really know what was going on, but loved seeing the baby and having all the attention on him for a few moments while we watched his reaction. :)





My dad and Bella Rose



All in all it was a great day and a relatively easy delivery, and I am so thankful it happened that way. I guess there was a good reason why I was put on hold on Wed for the gels! Maybe things wouldn't have gone so smoothly. I didn't really like being in the hopsital on the 4th of July, but it was worth it to have her here and in my arms. At least I had a cute outfit to put her in for the day!

Happy Birthday Bella Rose! We love you and are so glad you are here and part of our family!

Bella Rose Caruso

Introducing ......

BELLA ROSE CARUSO!

Born July 3rd at 3:48 pm. Weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz and was 19 1/2 in. long.

Its amazing how much I already love this little baby girl. She is so beautiful and there is such a special spirit about her. Labor and delivery went great - full story and more pics to come later! Thank you for all your prayers and support! We are so glad she is here and can't wait for everyone to meet her!

Still Here

So I am still here. I didn't even get to go into the hospital today to try the gels! Bummer. It was humid and cloudy this morning, and apparantly something to do with the pressure causes women to go into labor. (Everyone except me!) The hospital was full of laboring women and they didn't have any beds for me, so I am currently "on hold" until a bed opens up. Or until I go into labor on my own... which feels like will never happen right about now! I am trying to be patient, but its hard. Hopefully sometime tomorrow I will get a call from them and we can get this thing going!

40 Weeks!

So this is it! I made it! I am 40 weeks this week. At my doc appt on Monday I was at 3 cm and 60% effaced, so I'm happy to know I am progressing. We decided to go ahead and try the gels to see if it can tip me over the edge and get me going. I am going into the hospital tomorrow at 3 pm to have the gel put in, and then we will try it every two hours for 6 hours and see what happens. There is no guarantee that I will go into labor, but with how far progressed I am, both my doc and I feel like the gel is all I need to get me going. I have mixed feelings about it, but overall I am excited (and nervous of course) to have this little lady become part of our lives. So this is my last day with just me and my baby Braxton (who isn't a baby anymore!) Alot of emotions running through me. Wish me luck tomorrow! Hopefully next time I post it will be about our beautiful baby girl!

(Like the baby on the tv looking up at me? Ya, I didn't even plan that. Cool, eh?)

9 months!

38 Weeks!! 2 more to go! She has definitely popped out these last couple weeks, but I still think she is going to be under 8 lbs. (Maybe thats just me hoping, though! :) ) Last doc checkup said I was at a 2 and 50% effaced...so maybe I still got some time? I think one more week though I will be ready for her to be out. Then I will start walking alot and doing all I can to get her to come. Right now I am just enjoying my last few nights of restful sleep and my one-on-one time with Braxton!

I took Braxton to get a haircut this week. I can't believe how fast it grew since the last time we cut it a few months ago! The lady was going to buzz it, but thankfully I stopped her in time and she made it a little longer. Its still shorter than I wanted, but now that its done I like it alot and it will be nice and cool for the Summer.

I can't believe how different it makes him look. So much older, and more like my side of the family! (At least I think so.) Braxton is starting to talk alot more. He is saying small sentences a larger variety of words. Its so nice to be able to communicate better with him and know more of what he wants. I love seeing how his personality grows more each day too and the fun new little habits or facial expressions he picks up. I think he understands that there is a change coming, but of course he doesn't grasp how drastically our lives are going to change. I am worried about how he is going to cope with having to share me and not get all the attention he is used to, but thankfully I have family near to help. He will be a good big brother though, once he has adjusted. Every time he sees a baby, he strokes his face and says "soft," (knowing that he has to be soft with little babies) and he always gets concerned when there is a child crying. He loves playing with kids of any age, but especially those younger than him. He pats their heads and tries to help them crawl or walk or give them food or toys. Its so cute, and I'm glad he has that caring side to him. Just gotto get past the first few weeks (or months) after she is born!


We went with some friends over to a splash pad in one of the near communities a couple weeks ago. Braxton had a ball and loved playing in the fountains and with the other kids. He is such a fun-loving kid. How I love him!

Surprise Baby Shower!

Last weekend my good friends Cori and Heather threw a surprise baby shower for me! Justin took the day off (first time in FOREVER-it was much needed for both of us!) and we had planned to go to Macudo's Island in Chandler (an indoor jungle gym) with Cori and her family. I had absolutely no idea what was really happening, so when we knocked on their door to pick them up and instead I got a huge "SURPRISE" from all my friends in the ward, I was pretty shocked! It took me a second to realize what was happening. I was so overwhelmed I even got a little emotional! (I know, I'm a baby.) Justin took Braxton and went off for some "guy time" with Cori and Heather's husbands and kids, and I got to stay and enjoy the fun. We had a good time, and I'm so grateful for friends who go out of their way to make me feel loved. Thanks again Cori and Heather!

The "spread!" Yummy cheesecake bites, muffins, cream puffs, an adorable fruit basket (made by Heather!) that looked like a baby carriage, and candle party favors. YUM!!

Corynn and Tenille enjoying the party

One of my favorite gifts! This baby girl is going to be so dang cute in all the clothes and summer dresses I have for her. Wahoo!

Diane, Mary and Lisa. Love these ladies!

Heather (also prego!) Me and Cori. These are my buds!

Julie and Jayna - probably laughing at how flustered I still was after the initial "surprise!"

I have no idea what I was laughing at, but its a funny picture. :)

I had a wonderful time, and it was so nice to spend some "girl" time with some good friends. And its always nice to have help in getting ready for a new baby! You guys rock!