My little angel

My cousin Amy took some adorable pictures of Brekyn when she was just a couple weeks old. I am so in love with this little angel. There is nothing sweeter than a newborn. I don't think any mother smothers their child with kisses as much as I do!

I'm so grateful for all the love and support we have received from family and friends through this joyful time. I appreciate everyone that helped me with Colton since I wasn't able to lift him for 6 weeks after the C-Section. I don't think we thought that one through completely. I think for our next child we will wait until Brekyn is out of a crib so we don't have that worry. Colton has been adjusting better than I thought he would. I was a little worried that he'd try to hit her or something but he's not very interested in her and doesn't pay her much attention. I don't think he quite gets it yet. But he does give her kisses because he like the attention we give him when he does it. Regardless of why he does it, it's so adorable!

Brekyn Marie Dickson

Waving hello!

In her outfit ready to leave the hospital.

Love at first sight!

Brekyn Marie Dickson

Born Monday April 25th, 2011 @ 9:46 a.m.

7 pounds 5 ounces

18.5 inches

Needless to say we are completely enamoured with our sweet baby girl! The c-section was scheduled a week before my due date and everything ran smoothly. We arrived at Hoag Hospital at 7:30 a.m. and they prepped me for surgery. I was not nearly as anxious or nervous as I was going into the emergency C-Section with Colton. The spinal tap went great and I didn't feel any pain. Devin kept me calm and distracted from the surgery. As they pulled her out I heard my OB say that she was a girl and likes necklaces since she had the umbilical cord around her neck. That made me grateful I went for the c-section rather than a v-bac. I didn't hear her cry very much and they said that it was because her lungs were filled with fluid. So when they finished the surgery I got to hold her for a minute in the recovery room and then they took her to the nursery to monitor her and pump her stomach. So I didn't get to hold her again until around 4 p.m. It would have been unbearable to be away from her for that long except for the fact that the spinal tap had made me incredibly groggy and I could not keep my eyes open. So by the time the drugs wore off I had less than an hour wait. Devin was alternating checkups between the baby and I until we got her into my room. We are enjoying having her home and I'm recovering much faster than last time. I didn't get swollen like I did post-surgery with Colton and I'm getting much more rest this time. She is a great eater and sleeper so far!

Easter at the Dicksons

Who were we kidding when we thought we could escape the Easter holiday without Colton discovering what was hiding inside the Easter eggs. At first, he was entertained just playing with the eggs. For Easter we enjoyed lunch and an Easter egg hunt at the Dicksons. Colton discovered chocolate and was on a roll as soon as he figured out what was underneath the foil wrapper. He got his hands on as many little chocolate eggs as he could find. I was unusually lenient with how much chocolate I let him devour because I was going to have a baby the following day and knew his life was about to go through a big change. He deserved it!

Easter Basket

Stout Easter Gathering!

Girl Cousins!

Volleyball

The day before Easter we got together with my mom's side of the family for an Easter party at Craig park. Colton was adorable during the Easter egg hunt. He kept opening the eggs and letting the candy fall out before putting it in his basket. Thank goodness he doesn't recognize candy yet.

6 days left!!!

That's right ladies and gentlemen...less than 1 week left before we meet our sweet baby girl. Even though I've done this before, having an addition to our family soon is still so surreal. I'm ready to have her and beyond ready to not be pregnant anymore. I just remember being so anxious to have Colton but then realizing I should have enjoyed my last nights of good sleep! I've been feeling so worn out from Colton's high energy and I wish I could keep up with him. I worry how he will react to the baby, he has absolutely no clue that I'm having a baby. The baby name front runner is still Rylie Jane. My weight is up to 136 lbs. and I feel gigantic! I feel like a t-rex because my arms reach is very limited. Add the huge belly on top of being short and it's hard to reach anything! Devin is way more anxious than I am about the baby's arrival. I don't think the reality of a 2nd child has really hit either of us just yet.

Colton cuteness

I blogged previously including pics of Colton when I've come to his room in the morning to get him out of his crib. I have found him with his pj's half off, all the way off, and with an arm sticking out several times...but this was a first! I'm not sure how he figured out how to get his shirt like that but it was too funny not to take a picture. (He was still sleepy and not excited about the camera in his face.) Lately I've been giving him alot of bath time-it keeps the house clean since he's not running around destroying the place and he loves to play in there.

Pregnancy Update

While I was at the park with Colton and some friends recently, a random little boy came up to me and tried to pull up my shirt. He asked me...

"Is that a balloon in there?"

3 Weeks and 1 day until my scheduled C-Section on April 25th. My obgyn said I will be spending 3 nights in the hospital. I'm feeling very excited to meet our little girl. It doesn't feel real yet. My weight is at 133 lbs. and I'm hoping I've plateaued because I weighed 134 lbs. at the very end of my pregnancy last time. However, I can't seem to say no to any food so I'm expecting atleast a few more lbs. We still haven't decided on a baby name for sure yet. Ryley Jane is the front runner since we can't seem to agree on anything else. Devin likes Haley and Kira and I like Dakota. This pregnancy has been a little easier than with Colton. First off, I had the "happy pill"-Zofran- to help me hold down food and instead of losing 8-10 lbs. in the first trimester like I did with Colton, I actually gained a pound. I vomited atleast 70% less with the pill and although I still felt sick, it provided some relief and made it bearable. I haven't had to deal with heartburn like with Colton. Since Colton has kept me so active this pregnancy, I haven't been so achy. Sleeping just reached it's super uncomfortable point this past week.

Devin Runs LA Marathon!

He prevailed through the heavy rain and strong wind completing his first marathon.

26.2 miles!!!

I'm so proud of Devin and for his hard work and months of training for this marathon.

Congrats Dev!

Santa Ana Zoo

The zoo was a little smaller than we had expected so we were there for less than 2 hours. I think Colton had the most fun at the zoo's playground. He got to see monkeys, camels, an anteater, and a bald eagle. Unfortunately the elephant wasn't out and they didn't have lions or anything too impressive.

Gotta love those baby blues!

Is it too much to ask that our baby girl get Devin's genes with those eyes too?

My cute couch potatoes

Just winding down together after a long day.

Toothbrush Please

Colton loves to play with toothbrushes.

I guess that's not such a bad thing.

Cheeseball

Colton's head is in the 95th percentile so sometimes it's a struggle to get t-shirts and sweatshirts off. Sometimes I leave it like this for a minute because his face makes me laugh.

Ward Baby Shower

A big thank you to Lynds and Tiff for throwing me such a great baby shower and to all the girls that came. I felt so loved.