a new year, a new vehicle, and a new...

this past week, we sold this...

(it sold in 4 hours on ksl!)

and bought this...

because we're adding this...

or should i say HER...

to our family at the end of MAY! though my official due date is june 1st.

i would say we're more than excited and feel extremely blessed to get to add another little one to our family. if you had told me five years ago that this is where we'd be right now i wouldn't believe it. it has been a long rough road, definitely less rough than others have had it, but rough nonetheless. i feel so grateful and humble to be given another choice spirit daughter of my Heavenly Father. i am overwhelmed with the thought of raising righteous daughters, but i guarantee you i am up to the task. we will add more pink, and princesses, and sparkle, and tutus with open and willing arms. i am giddy about my girls having each other and i pray daily that they will be best friends. 

as for me, i feel great now. the pregnancy started out rough and i had to be down a lot. it was really hard on kendall and i counted on brooklyn a lot to be a big helper. and boy was she! i really don't know what i'll do when she goes to kindergarten in the fall every day. i feel bigger this time. i have a crazy appetite right now and almost anything and everything sounds delicious! i am still really tired, but so grateful to be in my second trimester and going strong. the weekly pictures that i've done with my previous pregnancies have not been as easy this time and are definitely more sporadic. but we're doing them! so i'll leave those with you to enjoy, and just remember, i'm tired, and bigger. ok?!

a few things i want to remember about this pregnancy (before my pregnant brain forgets it all!):

i found out i was pregnant the day we went to the pumpkin patch right before i went to my second yw's activity (as my new calling) 

i was only nauseated from week 4 to week 6, then it suddenly disappeared - i was scared

i cramped from week 5 to week 17

at my first ultrasound i didn't know for sure how far along i was and to my surprise, i was 10 weeks!

baby has measured right on at every ultrasound

brooklyn has been talking about what to name the baby since our first ultrasound 

i didn't feel her move as early as the others, but found out it's because she's behind the placenta

i first really felt her move at 16 weeks, but not really well until 19 weeks

pregnancy #8 has been a good one for the most part, and i don't think i'll ever be able to fully express how grateful-happy-anxious-humbled-excited i am about it!

pregnancy #1 #2 and #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 

introducing...

kendall kate

6 lbs 8 oz

18 inches

my heart is full. 

i am already emotional as i type this out. it has been quite a week. we received one of our biggest blessings straight from our father in heaven and are loving having a piece of heaven in our home. at this time a week ago (sunday evening), i had no clue i would be going into labor just hours later.

the contractions started in the middle of the night. i wasn't sure if they were for real. no way they were real! but after a couple hours and a priesthood blessing, i decided they were real. we woke brooklyn up with the exciting news that she was going to get a baby sister today. well, that was james. i was trying to hold it together through contractions.

we got to the hospital and they got intense. just under three minutes apart. i didn't think i'd survive. they started my iv, i threw up, and shortly after that, i was wheeled back into the operating room. my dad was on his way to be with brooklyn and james was waiting for him to arrive.

they went ahead and started my epidural. i was getting excited and anxious. then they started to make the first incision. i felt it. like for real felt it. it was sharp and super painful. i told them to stop. james made his way into the operating room and saw my nice and sliced open and heard me saying i could feel it. it was a tad overwhelming for him. they started pumping drugs into me as quickly as they could and i basically passed out. i didn't wake up until james had kendall all wrapped up and was bringing her to show me. i was so happy. and in so much pain.

the pain continued all day. i didn't really hold kendall until later that afternoon. it made it all worth it. the pain was excruciating, but that baby made it all worth it.

they finally decided to take my epidural out and administer pain meds orally. and thank goodness because that did the trick. apparently my epidural was not in as far as it could have been. bless those pain pills!

she had visitors that evening and was such a good baby through all of it. everyone was so anxious to see and meet her.

the next day, big sister brooklyn got to come and visit us. james and i had a few presents ready for her to open from her baby sister. she was so excited. i missed her so much and i was so excited to have her sit next to me and color in her new coloring book. i love love loved it!

the rest of our hospital stay was great. my nurses were awesome. the food was good. and i felt so much better than i did that first day. we were ready to get that baby home wednesday afternoon.

she is turning out to be such a good sweet baby. she's nursing well and pooping like a champ. we love her tiny-ness and can't get enough of her.

once at home, i caught brooklyn's cold. so, for the last few days, i've had to wear a mask any time i'm holding my baby. it's been pure torture. i was just want to kiss on her and i can't. brooklyn has been sick still and is so sad when we keep her at a distance from the baby. she doesn't like it one bit. hopefully once we are all healthy again, we can make this adjustment a little more easy. it's breaking my heart.

we've had wonderful meals brought in and we're just enjoying relaxing and getting to know the newest member of our family. james is loving being a dad to two girls. we'll see if he's saying that in 15 years.

the biggest help of all has come from my mom. i don't know what we would have done without her. she's cleaned, done laundry, played outside with brooklyn, filled up my water mug, run errands, cooked sunday dinner, changed diapers, bathed both girls, and countless other things. she has been an absolute lifesaver. there is no one quite like her. we hated to have to say goodbye this evening. it was very hard to see her go. my girls are so lucky to have a grandma who is super woman.

and she left her 'living quarters' cleaner than when she came. that mom of mine!

we love you.

we are so happy here at cream gables. the blessings we have seen this week have brought us to our knees. we are surrounded by great people in our lives. james and i are so grateful to be parents of daughters of god. we hope they know how much they are loved. 

the summer can now carry on as we start our adventure as a family of four.

h a p p y  m o n d a y 

father's day + losing energy

this weekend, the dead-tired-end-of-pregnancy bug hit me. luckily, not before a fun quick little trip to seven peaks with chels and ellie. it was nice to hang out in the water and enjoy the sunshine. also, i enjoyed more funnel fries. can ya blame me? and honestly, i think brooklyn gets more excited about them than i do.

brooklyn loves making demands of her aunt chelsea, and aunt chelsea is way too nice and gives into her. brooklyn asked for a silly face picture and aunt chelsea didn't hesitate a second to do it. also, ellie's thighs are delicious.

saturday i accomplished exactly two things on my to-do list of little projects i've decided to try and get done before our little chica comes. i was dead. tired. i really could have just been a lump on the couch all day. i'm glad i wasn't, but man, my energy is running out. jeremy and chels joined us in the evening for some good saturday night staying in and relaxing. chels and i even went as far as to make s'mores on the stove top. they totally hit the spot.

sunday we enjoyed celebrating those special dads in our lives. we made our way to coalville to spend the day. we grilled steak and drank mt. dew. the perfect way to celebrate a man's holiday right? the guys seemed happy. 

brooklyn and liv get along and share with each other about sixty percent of the time. this was one of those special occasions. liv was holding on for dear life. just ready for that crazy horse to take off.

we ended father's day out on the deck with s'mores. not just any s'mores though. we used chocolate striped cookies and reeses peanut butter cups to make them just a little more special. they totally hit the spot for the second time this weekend. brooklyn slept through this part darn it. liv definitely enjoyed it. that daddy's girl.

thanks holmes crew for a nice relaxing sunday celebrating the fellas. it was perfect.

and as for this growing little bundle of pink... she's definitely growing, and i'm losing all of my energy.

at this point, we really are ready for her to come any day now. however, her big sister has had a cold and we need her to be 100% healthy to welcome her into the world. we're hoping in the next couple of days our home will be sickness free and we can just anticipate baby's arrival. gosh we can't wait!

h a p p y   m o n d a y 

all to herself.

brooklyn had the park to herself for an hour today. the sand, the slides, the swings. it was hers for the taking. i found myself telling her that she shouldn't get used to this because every other time we've ever gone there's always been other kids to share the playground with. i also kind of slid in the fact that she'd have to learn to share basically everything she's ever known as just hers now that she's going to be a big sister.

for now, she's excited about the idea.

everyone keeps asking her if she's excited to have a baby sister. she says yes. i don't think she really understands what's happening, but the moment of truth will be when we're finally at home, the four of us, and the baby is taking most of my attention. we'll see. oh i hope she just loves her.

i hope they're best friends.

i hope they want to spend time together.

i wonder how different they'll be.

how alike.

i wonder if this one will be chubby.

these are the thoughts running through my mind during all my waking hours. it's so exciting not to know. the anticipation of it all. it's definitely like being seven years old and waiting for christmas, only about ten times worse. 

until then, brooklyn will soak up every minute of having parks and dolls all to herself.

a HUGE birthday shout out to my sister KAYLA!

who is celebrating her birthday in hawaii today. we love you so so much! eat a shrimp taco for me ok ;)

llamas of course.

still no baby.

 but i'm thoroughly enjoying a clean house and peace of mind knowing everything is ready to go when it's time to rock n' roll. 

today brooklyn and i stayed busy by stocking up on some groceries and going to kaysville for some dinner and to feed the llamas of course. check that one off the summer bucket list. again, brooklyn shocked me and was as brave as could be. she didn't want me to hold her. she just stuck the carrots through the fence right into those llamas' mouths. i'm positive she was thrilled with herself. 

chelsea fed us a deliciously perfect summer meal and then we got to hang out and visit. uncle jeremy came home and let brooklyn run through the sprinklers, so of course, she needed something dry to wear. aunt chelsea found some of ellie's jammies that she doesn't quite fit into yet and gave them a try on brooklyn.

and yes, she fits into 12 month jammies.

ellie was so nice to share. these two are going to cause chaos together before we know it.

h a p p y  dr. appointment d a y  t o  m e  

AND

h a p p y  lynch  b a b y  d a y  to my cute cousin !

while we wait...

so, i really really think that baby girl isn't going to make it to her induction date. i would love it if she would, but i don't think it's going to happen. my only hope is that she'll stay in there until my mom gets home. that means a whole nother week! so we'll see.

brooklyn and i kept ourselves busy and out of the house so it wouldn't get super messed up after my saturday to-do list craze. we hit up the craft store and target. i had a nice long list of things to get and brooklyn was a little angel and totally didn't mind the almost hour long target run. she was rewarded with some sonic tater tots afterwards. definitely a win.

while she napped, i put together the last thing that i really wanted to have ready before baby comes. a 'diaper changing station' down in our family room. we have a lot of stairs in our house and the nursery is on the top floor. so rather than have to traipse up all those stairs fifty times a day, i have a nice little station with diaper changing essentials ready to go. and because i want brooklyn to be able to help with things like 'go get a diaper please!' i put the basket in a place that is out of sight, but that she can reach. hopefully this idea won't be a big fail. 

later that afternoon, chels and ellie came over for a little visit. we enjoyed sitting outside for hours just visiting and letting the girls play. it was nice and shady in the backyard and we enjoyed every second. our little visit turned into chinese take-out, jeremy joining us, and just an overall great family night. 

we're trying to take as much advantage of summer as we can. especially before the baby comes. and so far, summer has been pretty darn good to us. 

h a p p y  t u e s d a y 

weekending + baby scare

this weekend was a good summer-feeling kind of weekend. we enjoyed the sunshine, an awesome first trip to seven peaks, a bbq complete with a bird show, and a family birthday celebration. brooklyn was pleased with all of it.

she surprised us by being absolutely and totally brave by going down water slides without hesitation and sticking her face in the water. so far, she has had a little bit too much of me in her, but finally, she's getting a little brave streak.

we get super anxious for summer to come, and this year, we stocked up on gift cards of all kinds (mostly food) for seven peaks, and we were stoked to get our hands on some fried yummy goodness.

funnel fries made this pregnant mama way happy. probably more happy than i should have been.

brooklyn was exhausted by the end of our time at the water park. between the sun and running around like crazy, she was ready for a nap.

but we still had a bbq and bird show to go to. we did everything we could to keep her awake on the way over there. we were successful, barely. then she saw the birds and completely came back to life. she wanted to hold them. another shocker. she got to hold one and pet a couple, but she really wanted to hold the huge parrot. it wasn't aloud, but we were seriously wondering if she would have done it given the opportunity.

sunday was a beautiful day. we enjoyed church and then some nice long naps. after nap time, we headed back down to salt lake to celebrate james' grandma's birthday with family. dinner was cafe rio burritos, fruit, and a nice big birthday cake to top it all off. it was great to visit and celebrate.

early friday morning, like 2:30 AM early, i thought this picture might not happen.

i woke up, and without going into any detail, thought my water had broke. i waited a little while before waking james up, finally did that, and then decided to call my doctor. he told me to head to the hospital. our heads were spinning! we absolutely were not ready for this baby to come. we ran around packing bags and trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the possibility of having a baby that day. 

we woke brooklyn up at the very last possible moment, but were totally surprised by the good mood she was in despite how early it was. when we told her we were going to the hospital she immediately assumed we were going to have her baby sister. she was so excited. it was sad to have to break it to her that we were not in fact having a baby that morning. she and i went home for a nap, and james stayed and worked (he works at mckay dee in case you didn't know).

after a few tests, it was concluded that my water didn't break, but that my body was definitely starting to prepare itself for baby to make her debut. so, now we're on pins and needles. just waiting. saturday morning i made a huge floor to ceiling to-do list. having that early morning scare made me realize how not ready i was to have this baby. lots to get done. so, i cruised through that list, only leaving a couple things undone by saturday night. i feel so much better and am absolutely ready whenever baby girl wants to come. it feels good. now i'm just anxious. so anxious! but honestly, if she wants to wait until her induction date, i would totally be fine with that. keep cookin' baby!

and for now, i plan on spending as much quality one on one time as i can with this sweet little thing. her world is about to be rocked. 

p.s. baby girl really shouldn't come this week. my mom and two of my sisters are out of town, out of the state even!