Baby L!

We had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new niece for what feels like years! You all probably remember that my sister and I are very close. So her children feel as close to mine as they could. :) I love them so much. Since we have a little boy we were all very excited to have a little girl to spoil! And she has my middle name... My sister is the BEST.

My sister's due date was the 16th. We all joked (and hoped) that L would come early. She did! This is going to get long but I want to write it all out so I don't forget. It was so exciting and amazing.

The afternoon of the 14th my sister texted that she was having a few contractions. Nothing to time but they were painful. By 5PM she said I should be ready because they were timing them now. I was ready! I drove home from work absolutely giddy. My parents trekked out to their house to pick up O. My sister wanted to labor at home for as long as possible. The plan was for me to be in the delivery room (again) so I needed to be ready do go. About 8:30 she said the contractions were further apart. So I got ready for bed with MrHoppy and watched some TV.

By 10 my brother in law had called and things had changed drastically. They were speeding to the hospital and I was out the door in 10 minutes to follow! We walked into her room which was eerily quiet. She was laying on the bed with her eyes closed. I should mention that my sister goes all natural. Not even Tylenol. So she was in the "zone".

I found out later that her water had broken as soon as they walked into the room. She felt like she couldn't do it anymore. I also found out that this probably means she was in transition. So we settled outside her room. A nurse went in for a minute and promplty ran out.

"She is a 10, she's ready to push, we need a Dr in here right away!!"

She also said "she wants her sister!". Best words. Ever. So I walked in and a nurse pulled me aside right away. They didn't even know her name yet, she wasn't checked in officially!! I gave them the information and went to the bed where the pushing had already started. I think it took 4 pushes and L was here! She was beautiful, perfect and we all fell in love instantly. My sister is amazing!

I went home about 2AM after getting to experience everything with them. My sister is the most amazingly giving person to let me stay for her first bath, weighing her, shots, etc. It was so much fun! Her official birth date was 12/14 at 11:26PM. She was almost born in the car on the way - it's no lie that the 2nd babies come MUCH faster!

In the morning we received bad news. L was in the NICU with low oxygen and what they thought was an infection of some sort. My sister and her husband were devestated. The perfect family bonding time wasn't going to happen. Instead L was hooked up to machines in another portion of the hospital. I arrived with snacks, movies, magazines and some outfits for L that I had picked up before I found out she was in the NICU. We were all SO worried.

Blood tests confirmed she had an infection, a pretty bad one. We still don't know what it was. She was on oxygen and IV antibiotics. We hoped she would get well quickly.

Finally on Sunday afternoon L was released. She is home, safe and sound. And most importantly - HEALTHY! We are doing our family Christmas celebration tomorrow night and I can't wait to love her up.

So that's my newest niece's birth story. Pretty amazing that they let me be a part of it with both their children. Thank you sissy!

Our House is Officially for Sale!

As of Sunday the 18th our house is officially for sale. It is staged, the photographer finished the photos Friday and the websites are up and running. The sign is in the yard but we are still waiting for the brochures to be completed.

I'm excited to say that we already had one showing! Our realtor warned us that the next 2 weeks will be hit or miss with the holidays so I was just happy to have had a showing. We'll see what kind of feedback they have for us. There is another couple interested in looking this week so I hope that works out too. It's kind of weird to come home knowing that strangers were walking through our house though. I guess I'll get used to it!

I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much - I want it to sell quickly but I know it's a tough market and we just need to find the "right" family.

In other much more exciting news - I'm an Auntie again! My niece was born last Wednesday the 14th and in our family's fashion it was not without drama! I'll post all about her first 6 days of life tomorrow.

Happy Christmas week everyone! I hope you all have fun plans with friends and family!

Oh, hi.

I've pretty much not been blogging regularly since mid-Summer. No excuses really, just really busy. I guess that's my excuse? I haven't been editing photos, working out as much or doing much of anything. Where is the time going? Not working out as much is really annoying but you'll see why here in a minute...

The big news is that we decided recently to list our home! We'll see if it sells. I'm trying not to get too excited. We are in love with the realtor we found. She helped my in-laws find their home when they moved to Colorado. She is very motivated, has excellent ideas and has held our hands through every step thus far.

Our plan if our home sells is to move from the 'burbs back into the city! We'll rent for a year or two while we save money for a down payment on a new home. We want to figure out our favorite neighborhood in Denver and move there!

So in preperation...

Sunday we deep cleaned our house. Wow, that took some time. It doesn't get done often and lemme tell ya - it needed it! It felt awesome to get it all done. Baseboards, touching up paint, cleaning all the blinds, etc. You know the cleaning I'm talking about! No fun!

Last night we met with a stager. It was so interesting the way she used things we already had in new ways. There was a lot of moving pictures, packing up items and arranging furniture. It was actually pretty fun and I'm amazed at what little changes she made and how they make such a big difference. I was excited that she commented several times on what a good eye I have and how she thought our house was so pretty.

After she left we started on the laundry list of other things that needed to be completed. We are pretty much packing up anything we don't use regularly. Personal photos are gone, the pantry is organized and clean, and there are many holes to be filled in and paint touch ups to be done on our walls! It will be a busy few evenings to say the least. See why I can't get to the gym the last few weeks?

A photographer is coming on Friday morning to take photos for the websites, brochures and folders that will be available on our table to anyone who looks at our house. I feel prepared. And I feel like I'm just going to hurry up and wait! Waiting to see if it sells, if the appraisal works out, what we find in the way of renting a home in Denver. I tend to be anxious about this type of thing so I'm trying really hard to go with the flow. I'd be lying if I said I slept well last night though!

We hope to have it listed by Saturday. I have a good feeling about listing it quickly, even though it's right around the holidays. A lot of people take their homes off the market this time of year. But people are still looking to buy and need to move! I hope this works in our benefit. We shall see. And I will be better about blogging.

Not sure if anyone is reading anymore - I don't blame you if you aren't! I need to decide what to do with the ol' blog. I don't feel like an infertile anymore. I would venture to say we feel like a happy couple without kids. I can't believe I'm here - but I am. And I'm happy. :)