Chicago Day 1

We are in Chicago! We are here for the ABA Conference. Nic holds two positions in the ABA. He is the student liaison at the U of U for the committee on Armed Forced Law and he is also the Lt. Governor for the 15 Circuit. He has had to attend a bunch of meetings for the conference, but we have managed to do some fun things while we are here.

Samantha decided to poop all over her outfit as we were boarding the plane in SLC, but other then that she has been an angel! First of all, our hotel is awesome. It is literally right downtown and is located right on the Chicago River. Here are some views from our window...

It has the MOST COMFORTABLE BED EVER!

We started our trip by trying a real Chicago Dog (probably the best hot dog I have ever had)

Then we tried Gino's East (supposedly the best pizza in the Country..Nic and disagreed!)

Then we walked "The Magnificent Mile" which is a mile of awesome shopping.

Chicago

Nic has a conference he has to attend in Chicago. Sam and I are tagging along. I just wanted to do a post and ask you all if there is anything you recommend doing while we are there. We are staying right downtown, so I am hoping that we won't need a rental car. If you have been there and have done anything fun, please give me your recommendations. We only have 3 days, so I want to make the most of it while we are there. Thanks for any help/advice you have for us!

Life with Baby

The last month and a half is such a blur! We are slowly adjusting to our life as a family of three. Here are some pictures of what we have done the last 2 weeks.

We had a great time at the Ute Stampede with my family. Sam didn't do too great with the noise at the Rodeo, so we didn't get to stay for the whole thing. Maybe we can go to another rodeo closer to the end of the summer.
We took Sam swimming for the first time, she actually liked it more then I thought she would.

We did our first hike/nature walk with the baby on Legacy Parkway. I think she got a little warm towards the end, but for the most part she did really well. I LOVE my stroller by the way!

Samantha really loves getting baths. She is obviously too big for our bathroom sink here, but she just seems to enjoy being wet. I don't know if you can tell in this picture..but she is losing all of the hair on the top of her head but keeping it all on the sides. She looks like an old man :)

4th of July

We had such a fun 4th of July and the baby did so well with the busy day. We started our day with a great family breakfast at my sisters house. It was a lot of fun to get together with all of my siblings. Then we went to the Magna Parade like we do every year. The baby slept through the whole thing and I was so happy because I was afraid all of the loud noises would scare her. In the afternoon we celebrated Nic's Grandma's Birthday party. It was the first time that Nic's extended family got to meet Samantha so that was neat. Here are some pictures...

I think this picture is neat...4 generations!

Parenthood

Wow, what a week this has been. I am overwhelmed with all of the emotions that I have felt since being induced last Wednesday. It seems like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital and now our beautiful baby is 1 week old! I can't believe how hard..and how amazing parenthood is. I am so protective of Samantha already. I can't stand it when she cries because I want to make everything ok for her. It's hard for me and Nic to have other people hold her because we feel so protective of her. I just stare at her constantly, I think she is so beautiful. I can't get over what a miracle it is to have her here. I really don't know how we could live without her now.

I just wanted to say thank you to our family members for all of their help and support the past week. We really appreciate the visits and phone calls. All of my siblings have been so wonderful to me and I really appreciate them. I wanted to also give a big thank you to my in-laws for providing meals for us AND for cleaning my house! You guys are the best.

Samantha Jo has finally arrived!!

Our sweet angel is finally here! We had a 17 hour labor, but she was totally worth the wait. She was born on Thursday, June 11th at 5:10pm. 8lbs 7 oz, 21 inches long. More photos to come soon!!

1 More Week!

Well the doctor had no good news for me at my appointment today. I was still at 2cm and my cervix has had no progress at all. SO, I am all set to be induced a week from today. I am glad to finally have an end in sight! If all goes as planned, we can expect our little Samantha to arrive on June 11th. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and calls, we appreciate all of your support!!