Sleeping soundly.

It is amazing and wonderful how much a newborn sleeps! Stella is always so peaceful when she is asleep--it is a different story when it is just past time to eat and I am running a bit behind.

Stella is starting to look different to me. I think it is in her cheeks--they are starting to fill in a bit. And although her hair is still dark, I can see it getting a little lighter (sorry Kari). Presley and Stella look like sisters--same eyes (though Stella's will be brown, I am pretty sure), lips, and nose--I can see a few differences too. They have different chins, eyebrows, and belly buttons. Presley's is an outie and Stella's is an innie.

More time outside . . .

Well, the weather was cooperating for a couple of days--and then the rain came--but thankfully things started clearing up this afternoon and we can go outside again. All this rain and cooler weather has produced a green spring! Presley has enjoyed picking all the daffodils for grandma and accidentally picking all the other flowers in people's yards (before I could stop her).

Roxy loves being outside too!

Sitting on the rocks in the front yard.

Smelling the lilacs.

Double rainbows!

Blossoms on one of my favorite trees in the neighborhood.

Beans!

We purchased a bucket of pinto beans from an emergency essentials store this week and put them into the sandbox! Presley can spend HOURS playing on the deck with the beans--we try not to spill them too much but we have found beans in the house as well as in the pockets of Presley's pants when I have changed her into her pajamas. As long as the birds and squirrels stay out of the beans we should be ok.

Definitely cleaner than sand! The picnic table has come in handy for a few lunches out on the deck. All we need now is a real patio set for the adults and we can all spend time together outside enjoying the view.

Lady Baby Stella.

Every time Presley is asked what her new little sister's name is she responds with "Lady Baby Stella". I suppose that will have to be her 'official' name. Here are a few pictures of Chris holding Stella with Presley helping out.

We love kisses!

My sister Becka was in town for a couple of days this weekend. Her boy, Lincoln, is now 3 1/2 months old and I can't believe how BIG he seems. Stella weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces at her 2 week check up on Friday and she had grown an inch! All to soon she will be 'big' as well--for now she is still in the preemie outfits grandma bought.



This is a shot of all the cousins/sisters/grand kids. From left to right: Stella 2 weeks, Lincoln 3 1/2 months, Presley 2.

Outside.

With the weather finally getting better (although quite windy lately) we have been spending time outdoors. Presley helped me pick out flowers for the front porch on our trip into Salt Lake last week--she even picked out a pink geranium by her self that we planted together. She loves to help me water the flowers (anything involving water is fun for her).

Chris kindly screwed in the plant hangers (they look slightly crooked to me but after measuring they are indeed even) and with no replanting the petunias were hung up and looking good! I still need to find time to pick up a few more plants to pot and put out on the back deck.

The other thing Presley loves to do is sweep and play with all the dirty things in the garage. Here is a picture of her proudly sitting with the plunger (gross, I know) which she carried all around the yard skipping and laughing.

Who knew you could have so much fun with junk in the garage!

Photo Shoot.

Stella had her first "photo shoot" when she was 4 days old. Grandma came to help hold the light disk while Chris took Presley to Park City to run errands--her favorite being a stop at PetCo for Roxy's treats where she ran all over the store looking at the animals. Stella was pretty unhappy the first time around so later that night Chris and I took a few more photos.

Krista color-corrected the images (thanks!) and here are the best of the bunch.

Stella is a little angel! It is amazing to have another newborn in the house. They truly are little miracles and we all love her so much! If only they didn't grow up so fast . . . .

Keeping us busy.

Another addition has been keeping us all busy! We are up nights with Stella (who is getting better with her days and nights) and playing all day long with Presley. We are trying to deal with Presley's semi-new act of crying for everything--food, attention, toys--I guess it is just a combination of her being t-w-o and a new little sister. We are using a "naughty mat" technique and it actually seems to be helping the situation.

Presley is really into water lately so we spend a lot of time playing in the sink and taking baths or showers. We really need the weather to warm up so we can head to the pool and play outside more. Grandma even has a water table toy that Presley played with all last weekend while Stella and I were in the hospital. That weekend was the only warm weather we have had in months!



We even purchased a new toy to help keep Presley busy and deal with the lack of attention. A new sandbox/picnic table combo. We put it on the deck and we are going to fill it with pinto beans instead of sand (a bit less messy but still fun--I think I read about it on someone else's blog and it sounded like a fun idea).



Chris and Presley spent the afternoon putting it together and playing with it. Chris also got the deck and patio furniture cleaned off while I secured the grill with bungee cords to the deck railing (it keeps blowing away with all the strong winds and storms lately).

Just out.

Again, this will be brief . . . just a few photos of Stella's arrival. Initially, when she was handed to me, I thought Stella looked completely different than Presley, but after looking at these photos I was mistaken--they look so much alike as newborns (Stella is just a bit smaller and has a slightly narrower face).

Getting cleaned up and weighed.

Ready for Mom to hold!

Crying in Dad's arms.

I will get to work on downloading and correcting the raw photos from the nice camera tomorrow. I am also going to shoot Stella's official baby pictures.

More to come . . .

She's here! And it was perfect this time! Here is the short list of details (photos and all the gory details will be up soon, for those who are interested):

• Born at 12:24 PM on Friday, May 16th
• 6 pounds 2 oz (so tiny!)
• 19 inches long

Today we finally gave her a name before we left the hospital,

Stella Madelyn McGown.

Waiting.

Maybe Lady Baby is waiting until we find her a name before she decides to make her debut . . . maybe she's just not quite ready yet. At the non-stress test today things went well. The baby has good movement and heart rates but the amniotic fluid is a little low (the doctors like it to be over 10 and I am at 8). If you are under 5 they need to get the baby out.

I have a doctor's appointment and another non-stress test scheduled for Monday morning. Let's hope I won't need either of them! I did have 8 pretty wimpy contractions in the middle of the night last night but nothing since . . . Predictions anyone???