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| Goofy Evan |
Our camping friends went to Carpinteria over Labor Day weekend. We would have liked to go, but I was just too pregnant to sleep on the ground, plus it was pretty close to my due date of September 8th. Instead, Ryan decided to take the kids up as a day trip that Saturday. I had planned to stay home and organize stuff, but was too worried somebody would drown, so I tagged along. We watched the kids swim, walked to the tide pools, lost Evan and Corinne (then found them), and roasted marshmallows. At one point, I followed Elise and her friends out to the beach to make sure they were safe in the dark. As I stood there watching them at a distance, and looking up at the stars, I prayed that this baby would be born easily and safely, and be a blessing in our lives. I felt so close to God out there in that beauty - it was a sacred and amazing experience.
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| Connor joined the dads boogie-boarding. |
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| Our friends the Walches had just moved away - it was good to see them again! |
On the way home from Carpinteria, I started having contractions. By the time we got home and went to bed, I was pretty sure they weren't fake ones like I'd been having off and on, but I tried to sleep anyway. At about six the next morning, I woke Ryan up, took a shower, and quickly briefed a sleepy Connor that he would be babysitting for awhile. We got to the hospital a little before 8, I think, and this sweet baby girl was born around 10:30! She weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce, and came out so fast she had bruises on both sides of her head for weeks. It wasn't until late that night that Ryan and I decided to name her Celeste Margaret Brown. Celeste after the stars (also because we just liked it), and Margaret after my Grandma Cloe.
After everything settled down, and we changed rooms, Ryan brought the kids to meet their new sister. My awesome visiting teacher, Audrey, had come over to watch them that morning, after stopping at church just long enough to take the Sacrament, so they'd been fed lunch and everything. They were giddy with excitement, it was so cute. Also, they brought me these sweet cards they had made themselves.
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| Evan |
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| Corinne |
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| Elise |
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| Connor |
That night was, of course, not restful. Ryan had to go home eventually to put the kids to bed. Celeste had some trouble with her tummy, so they had to pump her stomach to get the gunk out around 1am. She would only sleep if I held her, but I was afraid she'd fall off the narrow hospital bed if I dozed off. Even swaddled, she woke up in her bassinet with a loud scream/cry about every hour. (She has always cried so funny like that - more of a short yell of annoyance than an actual cry.) The next day was time to leave, so after we got all the necessary checkups and paperwork, we loaded her into her new carseat and took her home. The kids were happy to learn that she'd brought cotton candy as a getting-to-know-you present for her siblings ;-)
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