Some of you may think that this is gross, but I think it's pretty cool. My mom was able to take a video of Noah being born. It was a c-section - I wouldn't post a video of a regular birth. :) Brett wasn't able to be there due to boot camp, so this is all he was able to see of the birth as well. Hope you enjoy it!

I lied. I didn't get pictures up yesterday, so I'm putting them up today. I started the day off on Tuesday by giving Kennedy breakfast and one last bath before heading to the hospital with my mom at 9:45. I checked in and got hooked up to all kinds of things while waiting for the doctor. The nurse went through my vein on the first try with the IV (which has resulted in a nasty bruise) so she had to try again on my right hand. Then came the epidural. Compared to last time it was a nightmare. The anesthetist kept pinching a nerve which sent a very painful electric shock down my right leg. Needless to say, I was getting very antsy to get this baby out!

The doctor was (of course, most doctors are) about 40 minutes later than expected, but that turned out to be a good thing because the epidural took way longer than it should have to take effect. The anesthetist kept pinching me, and until we got into the operating room, I could feel it every time. But eventually, I was laying on the table, the curtain was up, and I couldn't feel a thing. Then, at 1:03 pm on March 23, I heard the little screams of my son being born.

It is a weird sensation to have a baby pulled out of your tummy. I felt like everything from my lungs and below was being stretched and pulled out. But then again, Brett and I make big babies. Noah weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and measured 21 inches long. He was even bigger than Kennedy was! He was (and is) extremely healthy and a very welcome addition to our family. He is so good natured and is a wonderful eater and sleeper.

Kennedy wasn't sure how to react at first, so she opted for ignoring me and Noah the first time she came to the hospital. She warmed up quickly though and now is the little helper I knew she would be. A special thank you to my parents: mom for staying with me in the operating room and in the hospital and dad for taking Kennedy while I was in the hospital for 3 days. Thankfully, the day I came home from the hospital was the same day that Brett graduated from boot camp and got to come home! Noah and I met him at the airport (don't worry, my dad drove) and he was able to get Kennedy out of bed this morning. We are all so happy that he is home! You'll have to excuse the bad picture, I am puffy from having a baby and being in the hospital, and it's painful for Brett to smile with his mouth open since the Coast Guard has been doing so much dental work on him.

The bad news is that Brett has to have more dental work done than expected. He opted to come home for a week, but on April 4 he has to go back to New Jersey for 2 weeks to finish up that dental work, so our moving plans are on hold. We don't know exactly when he'll be back, but it's pretty much guaranteed that he will have to miss everyone's birthday. The good thing is that he won't be in boot camp anymore, he will be a base employee, so he will be able to call us everyday. We'll be moving to Oregon as soon as he gets back.

We are so happy to have him home with us for this next week and I know that that 2 weeks will go by much faster than the last 8 have. We are looking forward to starting our adventure with the Coast Guard for real in a few weeks!

She will be home with grandpa for 3 days without mommy or daddy and then, when I come home, it will be with a baby brother. She deserves some special attention today. I'm sure she'll have lots of fun with my dad while I'm recovering, and she'll get to come see me and Noah everyday.

I will get to call Brett tomorrow, and his company commander is going to print out a couple of pictures for him (and show them to the whole company). Brett specifically requested that I not send any naked pictures of Noah because he would never hear the end of it. :)

I can't believe it's almost here! In less than 24 hours, I will have a son. In 4 days, Brett will be home with us. In 8 days we will be moving to Oregon. Wish me luck for tomorrow, and I will try my best to put pictures of Noah up on Friday when I get back from the hospital!

I'm sorry that I have been so bad about posting pictures lately. My camera situation, as I have said before, is slightly complicated. Once we get to Oregon and get settled though, the pictures should come more frequently. In any case, here are a bunch. First off, we went to the grocery store a few weeks ago and Kennedy absolutely refused to sit in the cart. While she was walking around, she found a nice place to sit. On a beer display.

It looked so funny that I had to take a picture. Then, I was on the computer one day and Kennedy was watching a show. I kept hearing her say, "Change a diaper!" which usually means that she needs me to change her. I walked over to her, and it turns out that Rosie, her bear, was the one that had pooped. She had gotten out a diaper and a few wipes and I sat and watched while she wiped Rosie and attempted to put the diaper on. I am sure that she will be wanting to try this with Noah.

She has found YouTube as well. She has some favorite videos that she wants to watch over, and over, and over again. One of those is a little animation that is set to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She loves it and is obviously enthralled.

She has started singing it to herself too, which is way cute. Her rendition goes something like this: "Twinkle star. How I wonder. What you are. Up, up, up high. Like a diamond. Sky." I love it because she randomly sings it to herself, especially in the car.

Next up, a picture of me at about 37.5 weeks pregnant. I haven't changed too much since then, but this boy is definitely big!

Today I got a pre-baby pedicure and took one last run to Sprinkles Cupcakes since I won't be able to have one again for quite some time. If you've never had one, here's a taste of what you are missing.

Pictured here are the Cinnamon Sugar (my new favorite), Pumpkin, Lemon Coconut, and a mess of crumbs that used to be a Dark Chocolate. That Dark Chocolate was eaten within minutes of getting into the car by the one who requested the "chocolate muffin."

She scarfed that thing faster than I've seen her scarf anything. She also tried calamari today at dinner and couldn't get enough of it! She kept asking for more, even after it was all gone. And on the note of cute things Kennedy does, she has been trying to say her name more correctly lately. She used to say "Kendy", but lately she has been trying to add the third syllable in there and it has turned out something like "Kendedy". Yesterday we were going to play at Gymboree and she got so excited (as she always does) that she was walking around saying, "Gym-bo-bree Kendedy!" It was so cute!

We are really coming up on starting this adventure of ours for real! Since I am posting this late, as of Saturday morning Noah will be here in 3 days, Brett will be home in 6, and we will be moving to Oregon in 10. Crazy! I will probably post one more time on Monday and then I will do my best to have pictures of Noah up on the blog on Friday! And check out the cooking blog for some delicious cookies.

His official report date is April 8th. We will be driving out there via Santaquin to see Brett's parents and pick up our things from them. Apparently at small boat stations (which is what Chetco River is) they are on a rotation like at a fire house. He will be on duty for 2-3 days, sleeping and eating there and answering rescue calls as they come in. Then he will be home for 2-3 days. That is so much better than if he were on a cutter and out for weeks at a time. Our official move date is now March 30, so here is the rundown. 9 days until Noah. 12 days until Brett comes home. 16 days until move time. It's all coming up so fast!

Noah comes - 12 days

Brett comes home - 15 days

We move to Oregon - about 18 days

And within all of that we will all (including Lucy) have our birthdays!

Lucy - March 15 - 3 years old

Noah - March 23 - 0 years old

Ashley - April 5 - 25 years old

Brett - April 13 - 28 years old

Kennedy - April 17 - 2 years old

We have decided that the months of March and April are going to get really expensive for us in a few years! That's a lot of birthday cake to eat in a month's time!

It is a beautiful day here in Plano - 70 and sunny. Kennedy and I went outside and played with sidewalk chalk for about 45 minutes. I had my second to last baby appointment and everything is going well. 2 weeks until baby! Brett's company posted a journal today that you can read here. 2.5 weeks until Brett comes home! Today has been a good day. And it will only get better! Lost is on tonight, and I have a pot luck at church to go to, which I made some delicious cookies for. My cross stitch is really coming along. Pretty much, my life is amazing. I am so happy today and I just thought I would share that with all of you.

We have heard the news! Brett has been assigned to Station Chetco River in Harbor, OR. So in a few weeks, we will be Oregonians! I am more than happy with this choice, even though it is not the one I would have made if I had been calling the shots. Brett is not stationed on a cutter, which is wonderful, because he won't have to leave us for weeks at a time again. I have no idea what his duties or hours will be like, but at least he won't just be gone all the time. This particular station was not on Brett's request list, but it was in a district he requested and we were trying to get the Pacific northwest, so no complaints. Plus, look how gorgeous it is!

Brett sent me what he put down on his dream sheet, and I couldn't be happier. They gave him a list of everything (all cutters, stations and sectors), and he had to choose 4 districts (the US is divided into 8, I think) and choose 3 places in each district. Here is the rundown of what he chose:

District 1: Station Boston, MA

Station East Moriches, NY (in the Hamptons on Long Island!)

Station Staten Island, NY

District 5: Station Annapolis, MD

Station Washington, DC

Any station in Virginia

District 11: Station Monterey Bay, CA

Station San Diego, CA

USCGC (Cutter) Blackfin - docks in Santa Barbara, CA

District 13: Station Seattle, WA

Station Portland, OR

Station Port Angeles, WA

There you have it! More than likely we will be going to one of these places. Brett will be calling us tomorrow night to let us know where we'll be! Keep an eye out for the post!