Our new Abigail

Abigail's hair has gotten really long and really straggly. She has felt for a long time that if she had long hair, it made her a princess by default. Recently though she's becoming tired of the constant tangles and unhealthy looking hair. So, she finally agreed and got excited for a new hair cut. I took her to get it done yesterday and voilá~ we have ourselves a new little girl. Here is our new Abigail and her new (and loved) hair.

The Couch Eats the Phone

See what happens to the couch when an iPhone is trapped. I guess they can make these things "too thin." I hope the couch will recover.

Better Late Than Never: Gabriel's Birth

As you all know, Gabriel is our fourth child. And he is the first one to ever arrive late. However, every physiological indicator* led us to believe he would actually come early - teasing us. Laura's OB was surprised too (it wasn't just the impatient parents). My boss sent me home early on Friday (nearly a week prior to the birth) to keep Laura company. I believe everyday we thought 'this was the day' based on Laura having contractions for more than an hour 5-7 minutes apart. That sometimes happened more than once during the day and would have initiated a call, yanking me out of work. So, I'm glad I was home. Of course, each time, the contractions would fade, and she never ended up in 'active' labor.

We scheduled an induction for Thursday morning, and called the hospital, but they were too busy to let us in. We finally had one of those sequences of contractions again that allowed us to get admitted to the hospital (though I'm not sure Laura was actively in labor). We walked into the hospital around 3:30pm. We sat being 'observed' for just over two hours. Some progress was actually made, but not much. They started Laura on pitocin at 7:30pm to move things along. Nurses and the doctors were all saying she wasn't going to have the baby until midnight.

Laura believed them. I kept insisting that once things get going, they get going fast, but no one thought it was important to check Laura's progression. Laura thought I should go out and get a bit to eat before local places close, etc... I was very reluctant, but finally was convinced to get something around 8:20pm.

Thanks to Google Voice, our text messages just after ordering some food are recorded. Here they are below:

See the times? Needless to say, it was close. I walked into the hospital room at 8:48pm. Laura gave birth to Gabriel at 8:53pm. Yes - things move fast with Laura and her babies. Since I was able to get some food while out, Laura was able to enjoy a strawberry milkshake right after delivery. A needed refreshment!

Mom & baby were and continue to be happy and healthy. We're grateful to welcome this new little human into our lives and are excited to get to know Gabriel for the rest of our lives.

Enjoy some pictures of our new boy:

Ben needs a boy cousin (or Gabriel to grow up quickly!!)

This may seriously embarrass him someday but today, Aunt Debbi and I thought it was so funny. Poor guy...can't wait for Gabe to grow up so they can do "boy" things together :)

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!

Yes, just two days after we got home we needed a reason to celebrate again! So, we had a very small party for Ben's 2 year birthday. He was pretty funny about his birthday. All day long Joel and I kept wishing him a Happy Birthday and he would get mad at us and yell, "NO!!!!!" I'm not sure why he felt like turning two was so traumatic for him. In the end, however, he came around and smiled when the cake came out and we sang to him. He finally smiled and he loves saying he's 2 when asked his age. It makes him giggle. Here are a couple pics from his birthday and a few for fun with his new brother.

Here he is playing with his best friend and favorite cousin, Izzy. They played tea party to celebrate his birthday



Grandma Headley made Ben a cake so I didn't have to do anything for his birthday. It was such a great cake to look at and DELICIOUS!! Thanks, Grandma!




The truck that Grandma and Grandpa gave him has been a big hit. He loves playing with trucks he can push around~reminds me of his cousin Hyrum!



And here are just a couple pictures of Ben enjoying his new brother. We love you, Ben. Hope you're not too upset that you've turned 2!!