Welcome Riley Kajsa!

Would you look at this little angel? How perfect she is? I may be a little biased...being her auntie and all...but my goodness..this little ball of joy has me a perfect blubbery mess. I was talking to Bryan last night and told him that I didnt realize I would be so emotional about this baby...I knew I would be happy...but didn't think I would be crying this much. (His response was, uh...really? cause everyone else knew) Every time i see her...every time i hold her...every time i think of her name...man...here i go again. Let me just say I am in love! So over the moon excited to get to hold her and meet her and watch my sister become a mommy. So fun!

My sister did amazing. She was 6 days past her due date and very emotional and very ready to meet this baby. She had irregular contractions and said she didn't quite know when to get to the hospital, but when she did she was already at 7! She had the baby naturally at the hospital and she said her birth experience was amazing (except the pushing...she wasnt a fan of the pushing) and peaceful and everyone at the hospital respected her wished for a drug-free birth and even encouraged her! i am beyond thrilled that she had such a good experience. Beyond proud that she did it and beyond grateful that the baby is healthy and perfect.

I keep plotting how to get over there and hold that baby...my own babies are a bit of a hurdle. i come home though and hug them tight and try to get them to stop growing. i can barely remember when they were sleeping sacks of potatoes. why does it go by in a heartbeat? and why do some stages seem to last a lifetime? My little framed "This too shall pass" is my daily reminder of that...both the good and the bad!

Thank you to all of you for your prayers! And keep them coming! She is recovering slowly and hasnt slept since last wednesday...and if you are a mom you know exactly how hard it all is - being exhausted and in pain and needed all the time. but she is truly happy and such a natural - it is so fun to watch how in love with her baby she is and what a good mommy she already is...that little girl is one lucky lady to have such amazing parents and so many people around waiting to love on her! Praise the Lord!

Baby Riley's Baby Shower

Sorry for the picture heavy post, but i couldn't pick which ones to leave off! Thank you cousin JJ for snapping pics for me, or else there would be no way to document the lovely day that it was! Liz and I threw a shower for my beautiful sister Sara-Britt in my backyard this past weekend. The weekend before my Aunt Stephanie and cousin Melissa threw Sara-Britt the sweetest most amazing shower ever for our family...and when we got there Liz and I realized they had the same idea in their mind for a theme (yellow and gray) so we quickly decided to re-think the theme since we didn't want to even try to compete with the professionals that they are...it was seriously amazing!

So we just used things i already had and kept it simple and it was a lovely day and just what Sara wanted - no agenda, no fuss, no games, just lovely women spending time together and blessing this (highly anticipated) baby Riley. There was a prayer of blessing on this baby and chatting time and then she opened gifts. Liz and I had arranged a group gift to get her the stroller she had wanted...little did i know she thought no one would buy her that stroller since it was a little pricey, so she registered for a different one in the mean time. to make a long story short...we were able to somehow surprise her with the stroller. She has just about all she needs and more and is ready to stop working (she was ready for that a while ago) and prepare to meet this baby!

Such a special time to celebrate. She is going to be the most amazing of moms and I can't wait to see her become a mom to her baby girl - she is going to fall so deep in love! It makes my heart happy to know she has an amazing support system within this group of women to help walk with her on her journey. 

Dear Riley - Your Auntie Carlee is so excited to meet you! I have been praying for you since the day I found out your mother was expecting you. I can't wait to take you to tea parties (if you like that sort of thing) and ballets (again, if you are into it) and make you wear dresses I made (when you are a baby you can't stop me...but when you get bigger I will let you decide). Whatever type of person you are, I have full confidence you can't help but be pretty awesome, since you are going to have pretty awesome parents who love the Lord, love life and know how to celebrate all that life blesses us with and how to deal with the stuff that life hands us that isn't so pleasant. Just remember you can always come over to Auntie Carlee's house if your mom doesn't want to play princess with you or if you want to learn how to catch bugs from your cousins or if you want to just bake some cookies with me. I make really good cookies just like your mom...

Love you Baby Riley!!!
Auntie Carlee