Hanging out....

Our HANDSOME adorable boy! He FINALLY is posing for pictures now and says "eeeeeze". lol

The pic of Julia is what they took at the hospital.... She was only 2 days old in that pic.


Daddy and Julia :)

Our big boy and baby girl

Video of Shane and Julia

And here she is....

Our baby girl, Julia Grace, was born on April 14th at 8:08am. She weighed 7 lbs 3 ozs at birth and is 20 inches long. She is SOOOOO gorgeous, and my goodness, Shane is SO in love with his baby sister. He already runs around the house getting things that she needs, getting diapers for me,... He hugs her constantly and much to my anxiety, tries picking her up already. He looks SO big compared to her, its trippy. I swear he was NEVER 'this' small. Her hands and tiny feet are just so darn adorable..... She looks like Shane so far, but darker. Darker skin tone, darker hair and eyes. Eric must have some crazy Italian dominant genes, b/c neither of them look a bit like me. Or they do and I just don't see it. We see what we want, really. Just ask family members who looks like who - you'll get all kinds of answers, even saying that your kid has like the great-great uncles tiny birth mark on the right lower calf - some random crap like that... LOL

ANYWAY! I digress as usual......

So - I am doing ok. This c/section was definitely a bit tougher, all around. Nothing dramatic or horrific, just harder. The nurse took 3 tries to get the IV in, the epidural hurt a bit more, the ep. meds got into my chest a bit quicker this time so the feeling of not being able to breath took me over for a couple minutes longer then I would have liked, felt like I had to throw up for a moment, BUT, once those things went away and I focused on my lil girl, all was well. Eric came into the room and they quickly went to work. Within minutes, the Dr said "I see her little face. Oh my, this is a feisty one, she is a mover!" Then,... her first cry. BLISS. Total bliss. Dr. Brooks held her up over the sheet so I could get a quick peek and dripped some fluid and blood on my forehead (yuck! i know) but of course, who would care in a moment like that. Eric went to her and watched the nurses clean her up, he cut the cord this time, and even watched them stitch up some of my parts. I was surprised. He said it wasn't as bad as he had it in his head. When they brought the lil peanut to me in the recovery room, she latched on with no problem and camped there for about 35 minutes.

Overall, more pain & discomfort and the nerves were really cookin this time, before the surgery. Knowing what to expect worked for me the entire pregnancy, until the day before. Then we both were like "Oh what the sh*t? I have to get sliced and diced tomorrow, then run around after a toddler while breastfeeding a newborn! Good times!" ok, well, maybe Eric wasn't thinking those exact words, lol, but he had nerves & anxiety going, too.

I could write way more on all of this and will when I have more time. (lol) For now, gotta run. But, I am doing well, recovering, and Julia is eating well, sleeping a LOT, and is as cute as can possibly be. Here are some pictures. I'll say it again.... My cup runneth over.

Love always,

Starlet-

Not long now!

Hi,

Just wanted to update everyone. Not too much to really report, but I had my last Dr's appt today! I'm scheduled for my c/section on Tuesday! We have to check in at 5:30am (yuck) and the surgery is at 7:30am. I CANNOT wait! Well, I am a little nervous and anxious.... but more excited then anything else. Yesterday, I had some blood pressure issues. Felt faint, had dizzy spells for almost 3 hours, swollen ankles, etc. But after a quick chat with the nurse at my Dr's office (she scolded me) & a couple of hours of resting with my legs elevated, everything returned to normal & I felt much better. Guess there is something to that "take it easy" concept. lol :)

I will post an update & pics of our baby girl when we get home and settled. (I'll be at the hospital for 3-4 days.) We cannot wait to see what she looks like, hug n kiss her, see Shane respond to her, and hold her tiny little hands! SO amazing.
Wish us luck!

Love always,
Starlet xo

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Check out her site (link below) Also, I've attached a pic of one of her featured hand-painted items - an Iced Tea set which includes a pitcher and four glasses that would make the perfect Mother's Day gift! Just a sample of her beautiful work.

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Disneyland - just Eric, Shane, and Grandpa :)

A special day with Shane before the arrival of his baby sister. :)