Family is the best thing EVER!

I'm still figuring out all the kinks with this blog thing and may end up going to the way Katie does her blog with powerpoint which seems to be a bit more user friendly in regards to getting pictures and text to work a little better together....but we'll have to see.....

There are still so many more pictures and thoughts surrounding the day Evelynn was born. The most important, besides her actual birth, was the amazing love and support from family and friends. I don't even remember when I called Mom and Dad Garner. I think I was in the delivery room getting situated. They responded by quickly tying things up in Rexburg Idaho and heading on down to Utah to be there for the birth. Matthew had called his parents when we first went in to the hospital in the middle of the night. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure that we were really in business with this whole labor thing. Matthew's parents had originally planned on being down in Vegas with Matthew's sister Sarah and her family but Sarah ended up coming up to visit them instead which ended up working out perfectly since we had Evelynn that weekend so Sarah was able to see her the day after she was born instead of having to wait until we bless her in May and Matthew's Mom and Dad were able to be there for the birth.

So....Mom and Dad Garner as well as Mom and Dad Blackburn and Aunt Ann (somehow Ann managed to stay out of ALL the pictures.....that stinker!) were there the night Evelynn was born. I'm sure it had to have been an absolute riot waiting out in the waiting room forever, but I truly appreciated them being there to welcome little Evelynn to the world with lots of love.

Ok, Ok, OK!!!! Here are some more pictures for those of you who aren't that excited about reading the text.... (Angel, you know I mean you ;-) Lol)

Matthew did a fantastic job of taking pictures while she was in the nursery....Here are some of them and below each one I wrote what I thought she might be thinking at the moment :-)

Why does everything have to be so cold?

And where's the milk everyone keeps talking about?

Now tell me honestly.....does this body make my head look big?

Sponge baths are HIGHLY OVER-RATED!!! And need I mention that it's COLD!

Ahhhhh......MUCH BETTER :-)

Now we're talkin'.......This feels GOOOOOOOOOD :-)

All clean.....feelin' pretty....and proud to be a Blackburn!

I know that voice!.....Hi Daddy ~ It's nice to feel you.....I love you!

Ooooh! I know this person too! Hi momma......Got milk!?!?!? Oh, and I love you too!

Grandma Garner loves me! Momma is SO happy you're here :-) You've taught momma how to take care of me....I can't wait to spend more time with you ~ your blankets cuddle me so well! I can't wait to be big enough for you to read stories to me and go for walks where you'll show me the pretty things in nature.

Grandma Blackburn loves me.....oh, this feels so nice to be with family! Momma says you picked out some darling outfits for me ~ I can't wait to wear them and gurgle and coo to show how much I like them :-) It will be fun to have play-time at Grandma's house and hear stories about my Daddy.

Grandpa Garner really likes my hair-do! Some day I will be big enough to spend time out in the shop with him and play "fuzzy-wuzzy was a bear" with the metal shavings and magnets just like momma did when she was little. Maybe we'll have Grandpa/Granddaughter camping-survival treks too!!!

Grandpa Blackburn thinks I'm pretty neat :-) He picked out my very first dress for Sunday. I wore it yesterday and felt so pretty in it! Some day he'll tell me all about my family from a long time ago.....he's really good with family history and I'll learn about a part of who I am. He has a very soothing voice. I can't wait to have fun with Grandpa!

Grandma thought this day would never happen......but HERE I AM :-)

I FINALLY got my milk!

After all the love and affection from everyone AND a full tummy.,,,,,I'm ready for a nap!

Sleep is a beautiful thing!

I'm so glad I'm here :-)

The day after Evelynn was born all my friends from work, both in x-ray and ultrasound took turns coming up and oooohhhhhd and aaaaahhhd over Evelynn. It was so fun showing her off and it meant a lot to me that they wanted to see her.

Matthew's sister Becky and her family came by to see her and the Grandparents came as well the next day. Grandpa Blackburn stayed home because he was coming down with a cold but again, it was so nice to feel the support from family. Hannah and Celeste (Becky's girls) took turns proving their babysitting skills and we'll have to have more fun with them in the future for sure! Even the boys got into the fun of holding her and passing her around.

We had originally planned on getting out of the hospital on Tuesday night since things were going so well, but then Dr. Sanyer said he wanted to make sure she wasn't getting jaundiced and so we stayed another night.

By Wednesday morning we were SOOOOOOOOOO incredibly ready to get out of the hospital. I hadn't slept at all for the last three nights and Matthew had only gotten little cat naps here and there. Between the nurses coming in and checking on things, running tests on Evelynn etc. we couldn't wait to get home to a more normal environment. The morning we left it seemed like everything drug out to the max. The doctor came in early saying he had checked her out and had signed the discharge papers and that we could go home. When the nurse came in the room half an hour later she met us ready at the door with all our bags packed and Evelynn almost ready for her car-seat. She mentioned that she didn't think we could go since the Dr. hadn't done the paperwork yet. We mentioned that he had told us he had and she said she would double check.......and then disappeared......for FOREVER! Finally the nurse's assistant tracked her down after running past our room several time reassuring us that she hadn't found the nurse yet.....but was still looking for her. Matt and I were about ready to climb the walls! Finally the nurse decided to return and then felt it was her duty to read word for word to me everything the doctor had written in the discharge orders. I wanted to grab the papers out of her hand and make a mad dash for the door but had to bite my tongue and nod my acknowledgement and agreement with everything she said which was exactly what the doctor had already verbally told us a couple hours previously. (Granted, I may be being a little harsh against the nurse, but under the circumstances it felt like everything that could possibly prolong the process of going home was happening). To top it off, the nurse's assistant had to personally escort us out to the car and she proceeded to teach us how to put the carseat in the truck. Both Matthew and I were clenching our teeth. WE KNOW HOW TO INSTALL THE CARSEAT FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE.....Just give us our baby!!!!!!!! She finally seemed satisfied that we were mentally and physically competent enough to get our baby home and decided to go back into the hospital. We ended up taking Evelynn right back out of the truck, followed her back into the hospital to pick up the perscriptions our doctor had given us, and somehow managed to safely get her secured back into the truck and FINALLY arrived back home. Nothing had ever felt or looked so beautiful as our own front door and then it was wonderful to go to our bedroom and see our fabulous California King sized bed that is pure heaven to sleep in......and the best part.....there would be no nurse coming in two or three times during the night to check on me!

Home Sweet Home! It was so nice to have Mom there to help me figure out what the heck I was supposed to do with this gorgeous little bundle that would be requiring so much time and attention. She provided opportunities for me to sleep a few hours of deeply beautifully restoring sleep. I would not have been able to do it without her! Even after reading "Baby Wise" and Your Baby's First Year books I suddenly felt very unsure and less than brilliant about what it takes to keep a baby happy and alive! Mom was so patient and helpful, letting me sleep when I could, making sure I knew how best to get Evelynn off on the right foot with a good schedule that provided structure while still being flexible. She provided a very comforting presence and ran to the store to get odds and ends, more soft blankets, baby monitors, caclium for momma, some warm sleepers for Evelynn (Mom is sure we're going to freeze her out since Matt and I keep the house fairly cool since we're both very warm-blooded) and lots of other things she noticed we needed. Oh it was so nice to have her there!

Matthew had started getting a cold the day she was born so I ended up sleeping in the guest bedroom with Evelynn since Matthew was coughing so much and we wanted to try and keep Evelynn and I from getting a cold as well. I succeeded in dodging the cold bug, but Evelynn started having a runny nose and cough at night when she was two weeks old. I stayed at home with her to keep her away from crowds (We went to the 2 wk. check-up where she weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz and had grown to 21.5 inches! Good girl :-)) since I had two friends whose babies had recently come down with RSV and had been in the hospital. She has successfully now survived her first cold and is sleeping much better at night.....so is Momma! Matthew is FINALLY getting over his cold, although he had allergies also coming into and complicating the situation.

Ann came over last week for an over-nighter while Matthew was gone for a camping over-nighter with the Young Men in the ward and it was fun to talk, play with Evelynn and watch movies. I miss her :-) We'll have to do that more often!

Evelynn's awake now so I have to stop......but more pictures and info to come!