Newly-Trained Thumb Sucker

Not only is Lily obsessed with sucking her thumb, but she's trying to get Zoey hooked too. Silly girl!

It was so funny to see how excited Lily was to share something she loves so much with her younger sister.

Hair Tales

Lily's hair has been looking a little shaby as of late, but we've been waiting to cut it until she grew more hair on the sides of her head and not just the back. Last week her hair transformed from . . .

mullet, to . . .

marvelous!

She looks so grown up now!

Finger Fun

My mom has been a huge help with Lily since Zoey has been born. I couldn't resist sharing these photos of Lily's first experience with finger paint. Mom, you are a brave woman!

Lily's so proud of herself.

Lazy Days

Easter was pretty relaxing this year. We just hung out at home in the morning, did an Easter egg hunt and went to the Harward's for dinner. Lily got a pretty dress and hat from Grandma and Grandpa and has been asking to wear it every day since.

It's been amazing to us how gentle and loving Lily has been with Zoey. She is always wanting to give her kisses and hold her "cute baby". Zoey loves when Lily is around! She watches her big sister very intently and calms down when she is near, even if Lily is being a little noisy.

Since I don't have a sister, I am so excited for my girls to grow up together. I have visions of them being best friends throughout their lives. They are definetly off to a great start!

Labor and Delivery

So, many things to blog about . . . so little time.  I guess I should start with the story of our new little Zoey's birth.  It started with my 39 week visit to the doctor, where, I have to admit, I was sooo anxious to finally meet our baby that I practically begged the doctor to strip my membranes.  This was on a Tuesday and he said he expected I would have the baby before the weekend since I was already dialated to 3 cm and about 75% effaced.  About an hour later my contractions started.  Although I was having contractions for the next two days straight, they were irregular (one would be 5 minutes apart, then the next 11 minutes, then 3 minutes), so we didn't end up going to the hospital until Thursday morning at around 10:30 am, when it was clear that they were not stopping and they were getting more painful.  When we got to the hospital I was dialated to 4 cm and then a couple hours later, I was about 5 cm.  I was starting to wonder why I had come to the hospital so early, I was sure that I would be progressing faster than that!  Then with each contraction I started getting muscle spasms that radiated from my back and through my legs, so I decided it was time for the epidural.  I got the epidural at about 2:30 pm and sent Tobby down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat so he wouldn't be famished through the whole birthing process.  My mom showed up around 3:00 pm and about a half hour later the doctor came to check up on me.  To our surprise, he told us that I was fully dialated and ready to push.  What?!  We called Tobby's cell phone, (luckily he had it), and waited for him to come back up to start.  Since I had just had the epidural an hour before, I was completely numb and couldn't feel when I was having contractions.  After about 35 minutes of pushing, Zoey Evangeline Harward was born at 4:22 pm. 

The first time giving birth was really surreal, and it was just as awesome this time.  My recovery has been 100 times better and all I really needed for the pain afterwards was ibuprofen for back pain.  We feel so blessed to have our little Zoey in our lives and although it's been hectic and an adjustment, we have a lot of helping hands around.  Tobby has been such a great dad and husband through this whole experience.  We are looking forward to getting to know our baby girl and love to see Lily and her interact.  Thank you for everyone for the love and support!

A Daddy's Quick Update

We're excited to welcome Zoey Evangeline Harward into the world and our family.

She was born 4:22 pm April Fools' Day, weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz and measuring up to 18 1/2 inches long. She's a very quiet and good-natured baby, so we're feeling very lucky! Both baby and mommy are doing well!

And Lily is excited too!

Lily and I are also doing well! We're loving the new addition to the family and making all the preparations for bringing them home. Hospital beds are nice, but sleeping in your own really makes one appreciate the finer things in life. We appreciate all the love and support shown thus far. Thank you and we'll update more as soon as we get the opportunity.

Two Harwards Came To Town

A couple weeks ago Tobby's brother, Cody, and his little girl, Emerson, came to Utah to visit. Meredith is currently on bedrest and unfortunately could not come. We were so sad that she wasn't with them, but we were excited that they made the trip without Mommy to come see us before their twins are born. It was so fun to see Emmy and Lily play together and despite the occasional 2 year old tantrum or bossiness, they were great together. I really wish they lived closer to each other and could play on a regular basis . . . they really love each other!

We had so much fun hanging around in their playroom at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I think the most fun activity for the girls was a place called Jump On It with a bunch of trampolines and jumpy toys. They had a blast!



Lily finally got the courage to go down this slide by herself. She is kind of clingy at playgrounds when it comes to slides, so I was thrilled when she ran up to this slide, climbed the stairs, without prompting or hand holding, and screamed as she slid down. Yah!