Memorial Day Weekend in Morro Bay

We got to spend Memorial Day Weekend in Morro Bay celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary.  This was Abigail's first vacation at 3 weeks old.  Because we are all still trying to recover from her birth, we just relaxed a lot.  

Our weekend looked mostly like this....

...and this.

We did take a day to explore nearby Cayucos.  

We enjoyed fish and chips and fresh clam chowder on the beach.

Ian and I enjoy cooking together.  With the long weekend, we were able to make some really great meals.  On our way up to Morro Bay we bought fresh berries and ate those on top of oat pancakes.

We also took advantage of the fresh seafood by grilling swordfish and making truffle risotto with asparagus and butterflied shrimp.

As always, we had to take a walk along the beach near Morro Rock.

Abigail Anne Finlay

Abigail Anne Finlay has arrived!  She was born May 2, 2014 at 2:38pm.  She weighed eight pounds and was 21.5 inches long.  We are so happy she is finally here.  Here is the story of her birth.

I was a week and a half overdue.  I had tried everything I could think of to go into labor, but no progress was being made.  Because Abigail was getting so big, we decided it was time to deliver this baby.  We went to the hospital at 10pm on Thursday night at Huntington Hospital to be induced.  It's not exactly how I pictured the birth, but the doctor said she was over eight pounds and I was afraid I would have to have a c-section to get her out.

One last baby bump picture.

The labor was progressing well until about 9am the next day when I got a horrible fever.  It caused Abigail's heart rate to start soaring.  After several hours of this, the nurse finally said she would give it 30 more minutes while she went on her lunch break.  If the baby's heart rate wasn't back down by the time she came back then we would have to do a c-section to ensure the baby stayed healthy.  I asked for popsicles and Ian helped cool me off with cold rags and ice.  By some miracle, by the time the nurse got back my fever had broken and it was time to push.  

Abigail was born not too long after that at 2:38pm.  Ian was a great coach and helped throughout the whole process.

I love this picture of them.

She had pretty high jaundice levels so she had to be put under the special lights to help get rid of it.  It was hard to see her with a mask on her face and wrapped up like a glow worm.  

We finally decided on her name the day we were leaving the hospital!  We had a few options and couldn't decide between them.  Abigail Anne won out.  We left the hospital two days later ready to be home with just our family.  We love snuggling her and having her around.  It took several years for her to get here, but she was worth the wait!

Baby Shower Part 2

On Saturday, we got to celebrate with the Curtis side of the family.  My aunt Natalie was the organizer.  

We had a double shower for myself and cousin Caitlin also due with a girl in April!  It was so fun to do a joint baby shower!

Again, we were showered with so many nice gifts.  My aunt made these quilts for us that is now in her nursery.

More than anything, it was fun to see relatives that I don't always get to see because we live in California.

It was fun having my dad be able to participate and be there for the shower as well!

I am so glad our little girl will be loved by so many great family and friends!

Baby Shower Time!

I am sure lucky to have two incredible extended families.  In March, I flew out to Utah for the weekend for two baby showers one on my Dad's side and one on my Mom's side of the family.  It was really fun to catch up with aunts and cousins and we were showered with so many nice gifts!

On Friday we celebrated with the Andersons.  My two sisters, Lindsay and Kristen, put on the shower at my Grandma's house.    

Notes for people to write advice. 

The decorations were darling and the food was great complete with a chocolate fountain!

Loved the diaper cake that Kristen made. 

More than anything, I loved seeing some of my relatives and catching up with them.  

We were showered with so many nice gifts!

My dad and Julie drove all the way from Colorado to be there for the shower.  They gave us this beautiful blessing dress.  

My nephew, Jordan, celebrated his third birthday the same night.  We had a fun time opening gifts and having a double celebration!

Sister's Trip to San Diego

In February, my sisters (minus Whitney who wasn't able to make it this time) and I took a trip to San Diego for a weekend getaway.

We enjoyed going to the San Diego temple.

Breakfast along the coast.

Beach time.

Dinner...

and pedicures.

Plus, my sisters surprised me and threw me a little baby celebration.

We had a great time, plus we all couldn't get enough of Kristen's baby Aspen.  

Home Renovation Part 2

The second part of our home renovation has been outside.  Here's a before picture of the backyard.

We put in pavers around all the trees.  

Fixed up a garden area and have taken up a new hobby of gardening.  

I wish I had better pictures, but here is a before picture in the front.

We took out the big bushes and the tree to the right that is a little hidden (it had termites) that were hiding the house and planted iceberg roses and flowers there instead.  We also put in sprinklers and added some furniture to the porch.