Oh Summer Time!

We have been enjoying this summer, even with the 90 degree days! Remind me about this when we are buried in two feet of snow.

Miss Hadley is growing right before my eyes! I love getting to spend everyday with my sweet baby girl. To sum up the past month and the fun we have had...We took our first trip to Cleveland with Hadley. She loved getting to meet her aunts, uncle, cousins and great grandparents. After Cleveland we headed to Indy and there, little girl attended her second wedding of the summer, Loretta and Caleb's. She saw her first 4th of July fireworks over the cornfields of Indiana. :) She loved them, just like her Mama. We've had a few playdates with Sarah and Charlotte and Christin and Griffin. We have been to the baby pool a few times. Hadley finds the water to be relaxing and she likes watching the other kids in the pool. And I must say, she looks super cute in her little swimsuit. We have spent some time over at the Harbor, taking walks around the neighborhood and going to movies in the park. Today my little city girl took her first bus ride downtown. Mama and Hadley did what girls do best...SHOP! I love my little shopping buddy! We just HAD to get our picture taken on Michigan Ave. together. :)

Back in Chicago!

Little Miss Hadley had her one month check up last week and the doctor said she was perfect! We, of course, already knew that. :) She was in the 43rd percentile for weight and 85th for height. She is a growing girl!

Last week and this week we got together with some friends - we went on a long walk and took Holly to lunch for her birthday, followed by Dairy Queen :) On Friday we celebrated Ross' birthday by having dinner, pie and the boys got to play some bball. That was Hadley's first birthday party! She enjoyed it so much that she slept through it. Monday night, we went to dinner to catch up with Lesley and Darren (soon to be parents) at Wilde. And today Hadley got to meet Lauren for the first time. We got to walk to lunch and eat outside. It was a beautiful day!

We have been taking lots of walks now that it's so nice out. Hadley has been enjoying the walks - she likes sleeping in her stroller but she also loves looking around during our walks. It's fun to see her take it all in. Everything is new to her.

Hadley has been enjoying her mat time. She looks at the animals hanging above her and some times coos at them. She likes to kick the mirror and bird that are hanging. While she's on her back she has been leaning to one side with her body, so it makes me think she is trying to roll over! Slow down little girl, Mama isn't ready for such a big milestone. She has been doing a great job with tummy time too. She is constantly trying to crawl. She pulls her little legs up under her as if she is trying to use them to move. And actually, she did move herself off the mat the other day. She continues to do a great job of holding her head up and she smiles more every day! Those smiles are priceless!

Side note: The child gets about 200 kisses a day. Matthew thinks she might get tired of being kissed all the time. And, she might, but I just can't help myself. Now, I understand why my dad couldn't keep his lips off of me. :)

2 weeks in Indiana

It's hard to believe my baby girl is already 5 1/2 weeks old! Where did that last month go?! She has had an eventful first 5 weeks of life.

When she was 2 weeks old she crossed the state line into Indiana! First of many trips for the little girl. The car was absolutely packed! Good thing Hadley slept the whole way because there was NO room for me to help her out in the back. Daddy really packed her in there.

While in Indy, Hadley got to meet lots of family and friends for the first time. It was so fun getting to see everyone and so nice of them for coming over to see our sweet baby.

Along with meeting the family, Hadley had many firsts while in Indiana:

First bridal shower

First Race weekend

First time at the Snow Shack

First bottle

First sleepover

First bachelorette party

First rehearsal dinner

First wedding

First babysitter

First shopping trip

First walk in her stroller

And she saw her first rainbow!

...just to name a few!

We also got to do something special - we planted the Hadley tree. Since we don't have a yard, we planted it in Nana and Poppy's front yard. It will grow as she does.

We had a wonderful time in Indy hanging out with our family and doing lots of fun things. By the end of our stay, Hadley had spent more time living in Indiana than in Chicago! We know the grandparents didn't want Hadley to leave, but we will be back there before they know it!

One week old!

We took Hadley to the Harbor to celebrate her turning one week old. She slept the whole time, but I am convinced she loved it!

It's a GIRL!!!!!

Thursday night, May 6th, I was induced. After about 5 hours of back to back contractions I was begging for some kind of medication. Though the epidural only took to my left side, it definitely took the edge off and allowed Matthew and I to relax a little more. At 9am the midwife said I was dilated 8cm. Things were looking good. Around 12:30 I started pushing...and pushing...and pushing, until 5:30pm. This baby was not budging. At the end of 5 hours of pushing we had no choice but to try a vacuum to get the baby out. Two attempts and then it would be a c-section. I was pushing as hard as I possibly could. The first attempt failed. The second attempt failed. I heard the doctor say, I'm sorry and grab the scissors and two more pushes and there she was! They said, It's a girl! I was like, What...a girl!? I was so surprised and thrilled! And what a beautiful little baby girl she was. I couldn't believe she was so perfect!

Hadley Grace Simpson was born on May 7th at 5:53pm. She weighed 8lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 inches long. She had dark brown hair and cute little eyebrows. Her eyes were blue and her features were perfect. I think she looks just like my baby pictures but with her Daddy's nose.

Hadley's grandparents, aunt and uncle were in the waiting room anxiously awaiting to hear the big news and to see little Hadley. She came into this world very loved! She is such a blessing and we couldn't be more happy to have this sweet baby girl in our lives.

Induction Day

I never thought I would get this far. I assumed the baby would come on its own by now. But, at 42 weeks, the baby has run out of time. This is not what I had wanted or planned but God knew all along this is how it would play out. I am thankful that all our family gets to be here and won't miss out on any of it. I know they are happy about that too. Even though we have been waiting anxiously for 2 weeks (well really 9 months!), it's still surreal to believe we are going to have a baby tomorrow (likely).

Last night was Cinco de Mayo and our parents arrived. We went to El Mariachi for dinner. The baby is allowing us to really make an event out of this. This morning my mom is going to make us B & G for breakfast! I said the baby knew if it waited it out, it would get B & G one more time! Smart baby! :) It is a beautiful day! Jason and Laura are coming this afternoon. It's going to be quite the event. Induction will begin at 8pm tonight. Hope I can handle the pain. I know it will all be worth it. I just have to focus on seeing that little face I've been waiting see for the past 9 months!(or my whole life!) Can't believe this is happening! We couldn't be more excited or blessed!! Thank you Lord for this experience and this amazing gift!!

41 weeks and 3 days...

Am I really still pregnant!? This is officially my last Monday without a little one. We enjoyed our weekend, but it was so unexpected that we would spend it alone and just hanging out with friends. We thought for sure our family would be here (or possibly gone by then). This baby is really throwing us for a loop already! It didn't really occur to me that we would have a May baby. But, low and behold...we are about to! May is a great month, so no wonder he/she wanted to wait a little longer.

I have an ultrasound today to make sure the amniotic fluid is at a good level and the baby still looks happy in there. If the baby isn't out on its own by Thursday, I will be induced. I really don't want to be induced but I think that is the only way this baby is going to come out. At least our parents, brother and sister will all be here and not risk missing the big event! I'm not gunna lie though, I really wanted to make that frantic call to them just to hear their reactions. I guess I have kind of gotten a taste of it since they have been on edge the last two weeks and every time I call they are partially holding their breath in anticipation of us saying, we are on our way to the hospital.

I am so excited I will get to celebrate my first Mother's Day this Sunday! I hope we are home by then, but we will just have to wait and see. I can't wait to get my little turkey out and see what he/she looks like. By the end of this week...life will never be the same. :)