I'm still here

My friend, Kelly, is going to remove me soon...it's almost been a year since I've blogged and I don't blame her! But, I don't want to be removed. SO...I'm going to try and update a little more often! Facebook truly is to blame but sometimes you don't get the FULL story through facebook and lets be honest, I don't update that all that often either! So, don't delete me, Kelly! I'm here...look, I even updated the look of my blog!!!

Amelia Joy

Well, 8 weeks after her birth, I figured I better post about it! Our sweet Amelia Joy arrived Tuesday, March 16 at 3:04 in the afternoon. I went to the doctor Monday and she scheduled me to be induced the next day...I really didn't want a March 17 baby (St. Patrick's Day) so I was VERY happy to hear I could get in! This way the baby would share a birthday with Grandpa Scholte as well! We brought Ella to Grandma & Grandpa's that morning and arrived at the hospital about 7. They started the petocin around 8:30. I really never had horrible contractions (thankfully) and Eric and I spent the morning playing games and watching tv! I told him it was like we were on vacation! I got the epidural around 12:30 and my doctor came to break my water at about 1:30...VERY thankful I had already had the epidural! Those things are fabulous! Once my water was broke, I went from a 4-9 in about one minute! The doctor left after that (surprisingly) to go back to her office and the nurse started preparing things for the baby to arrive. Around 2:45, I started feeling all this pressure and need to push. They FINALLY called the doctor but she didn't even make it on time...Millie just came right out without a single push and the nurse delivered her! My doctor arrived right after she was born. Eric announced to me that it was a girl and they placed a blue baby on me then immediately swept her away...the cord had gotten around her neck during the delivery...scary! It was a very emotional few seconds (which seemed MUCH MUCH longer in the moment) until I heard her first little cry! It took about 10 minutes for us to decide on her name...we had it narrowed down to 3 girls names before we left for the hospital and decided if it WAS a girl, we would decide then! It was an amazing day and we were so thrilled to have another daughter! My final vote was girl and Eric's was boy! Here are some photos from her birth day.

Blurry but a shot of my belly before we left for the hospital

At Grandma and Grandpa's before leaving for the hospital

The whole H1N1 thing was still going on so Eric had to wear a mask if he went out into the halls!

Our first family picture! We didn't think Ella would be able to come into the room because of the H1N1 rules...amazingly, the ban got lifted on children in the hospital 2 hours before Amelia was born! So, Ella got to come in wearing her "big sister" shirt and I got the picture on the hospital bed like I wanted! Ella didn't quite know what to think of me with all these wires and cords coming out! You can tell she's a little overwhelmed by her face here!

Millie with Grandma & Grandpa DB (we didn't get one that day of her with the Scholtes...still kicking myself for that one but they WERE there!)

with Auntie Jill

Auntie Julie & Auntie Jani (waiting for Millie to warm up!)

with Auntie Karen

We stole this idea from my friend Kristen (thanks!) and Eric wore this out to announce what we had!

Amelia Joy Scholte

Kelly came out to see us the next day

With my girls

A family of FOUR!

Universal Studios

Last Wednesday, Ella & I convinced Eric to take a half day for a special outing to Universal Studios. For all you teachers out there, you get in free until March 31. SO...we went for the afternoon! It was a great day! Ella's (and ours) highlight was meeting Dora AND Curious George! There wasn't tons we could do but Eric went on a couple rides and we did the backstage thing and just had fun there as a family! Totally worth it when all we paid for was parking (which was $14...a TOTAL rip off but doable when you're not paying $70 each for the day!) It was a great time!

Hiatus

So...I've been on a break. I like to think of it as a hiatus...just like tv shows, I took the summer off. SO...think of this as my Season Premiere! I know, Facebook has taken the front seat for me rather than blogging but I have been called out on it by a few so I'm back! There's just so much to catch up on so I'll just briefly fill you in. Life's great! Summer was wonderful and school is now back in full swing. I can hardly believe we've been in school 36 days! Our biggest news is that we're expecting another baby in March! Time is flying by and I'm nearly 20 weeks...half way there! SO...here's a photo recap and a promise to improve on my blogging frequency!

Here are some pics of my cute girl...I just cannot get enough of her lately but I'll save that for a later post!

Eric & I went to Palm Springs for an overnight getaway over the summer!

Tessa & Ella swimming...cute cousins!

The rest of the pics are from Hume Lake. We got to spend a week up there with some great friends! It was a wonderful, relaxing time!

Nate & Eric after their motorcycle ride in the dirt!

Aubrie, Ella & Leah

The Urkes, Scholtes & Hansens....Nate & Becky were up for just a couple days before Chris & Kelly arrived....all 3 girls are about 2 months apart!

Aubrie & Ella in their matching outfits

Jeff throwing Aubrie SO high!

The Petinaks, Scholtes & Urkes....we took a boat ride on the lake!

Cute girl...trying to keep her contained while we packed up!

Ella liked this bear at the cabin entrance

One last family shot before heading home

The Announcement....

So, there you have it! Sorry for all the pictures but if you're not on Facebook, you haven't seen these so if that's you, know this is for you!

DeBlauw Family Reunion

My dad is one of 8 kids! We get together about every 3 or 4 years for a family reunion! We rented out an entire camp for our family which is perfect...we all stay in cabins, share bathrooms, and our meals are cooked for us! It's a really fun time! Ella didn't sleep very well the first night so Eric and I napped when she did on Saturday so we missed out on the climbing wall and the hike but we still had a great time!

The Walt DeBlauw Family

My first cousins minus 4

The remaining 7 siblings (my Uncle Andy died in '97)

My second cousins

Ella's Birthday Party

Ella's birthday party was a fun time! We kept it simple with just our families and some close friends! The "theme" was tulips & tutus so I made little tutus for all the girls. I forgot to take a picture of the table outside AND inside (which I was SO kicking myself for afterwards) so I had to set the table up to get some pictures afterwards! It was a great day and I still cannot believe my baby is one! She truly is more and more fun every single day! We are so in love with our little Ella!!