"Hey you guys!"

Anyone remember Sloth from The Goonies?

Pretty sure he's been reincarnated.

You're welcome.

The other pictures we took today turned out a little better. Ü

#8 Have a baby

 My due date was September 2, and, like clockwork, that's the day I went into labor.

It was right around dinner time, and I was running around like crazy. I had laundry going, which meant hurrying up and downstairs to the laundry room about every half hour. Dinner was on the stove, Jane was in the bath because she'd wet her pants, and Livia had her very first homework assignment, and was following me around the house so I could help her with it. I had had tons of irregular contractions in the weeks leading up to my due date, so it took me some time to realize that all the pains I was feeling as I scurried around were coming in regular intervals. In fact, it wasn't until we all sat down to dinner that I had time to really think about them and notice that they were contractions. I had tried calling Chase earlier, just because things were so hectic and I would have loved his help, and now I tried a few more times, but to no avail. Finally he texted me that he was in a meeting and had left his phone at his desk. Luckily some kind soul heard it ring a bunch of times and brought it to him. So I very politely insisted that he come home. Now.

Meanwhile I'm still doing laundry, still helping the kids with dinner, and still haven't had a moment to time my contractions. Once Chase came home I sat down and, while folding the mountain of laundry on the couch, began timing things. 5 minutes apart. After an hour at that pace I decided that it would probably be a good idea to find a place for Livia and Jane to stay the night. It seemed to take forever to put the last minute things into our bags, tidy up the house, and get the girls ready for bed. But finally, they were settled at a neighbor's house and we were on our way to the hospital.

Early on in the labor process. You can tell, because I look way too happy.

Chase did some last minute cramming on how to be a labor coach.

We were officially admitted at 11:00 pm, and settled in for a long night of labor. By 3:00 in the morning I was exhausted, and though I was coping fairly well through the contractions, I had no more desire to cope and requested an epidural. I finally got one around 4:00 a.m., and had one blissful hour of sleep. Then they woke me up to check my progress, and before too long it was time to push. After only 9 minutes of pushing, Grace Darlene Baldwin was born at precisely 6:30 a.m., coming in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches long.

The girls were so excited to meet her, and have been positively doting on her ever since.

Family of five!

I feel so blessed that everything went smoothly and without complication. I'm grateful she was born on the 3rd, as I was scheduled to have a c-section on the 4th. I'm so glad she is healthy, and that both of our blood sugar readings are now normal. And overall I am filled with so much joy to have this new little person, this precious spirit, in our family for time and all eternity. 

We love you, Gracie!

Here she is, all dressed up to come home from the hospital.

They always look so ridiculously small in their car seat!

Home

My mom came to help out when she was 1 week old.

And we have to include one funny shot, gangsta style :)

Grace has the funniest little upturned nose. She'll grow into it...right??

My grandparents and Uncle David also came to visit. I love that they live so close!

And we thought it was hard to get a good family picture before!

I love newborns. And I got the sleepiest, sweetest newborn of all!

And finally, here's a slideshow the hospital photographer put together of Grace. (Hopefully the link works)

Summertime

Having not blogged at all for over three months, I have just a little bit to catch up on. Ü

Let us start with May...

I'm pretty sure I was 20 weeks along here: the halfway mark!

 We took a weekend trip to #10 Visit Yosemite

Livia complained pretty much the entire time, but she sure did enjoy those popsicles!

Family selfie with Half-Dome

June

Livia graduated from Kindergarten! She insisted on wearing all black that day, because "that's just the graduation color."

Jane was excited about the occasion as well.

 We celebrated by going out to lunch and hitting up Chuck E. Cheese.

So, I get the diapered stuffed animals, but the books???

Jane had her first dental appointment and did awesome. She was calm as could be.

Chase went to Ireland for work and took an extra day to explore. Unfortunately, it turns out he's extremely allergic to Ireland--or something that grows there--and could barely breathe by the end of the week. Guess that means we won't ever be moving to Dublin! (Linkedin has an office there, so we had talked about it)

 Father's day

 Jane started learning how to write her name

I always let my girls pick out their own outfits, and every once in awhile they decide to be all matchy-matchy.

 Livia had her ballet/tap recital and did great! This is the last recital for awhile as she's decided to switch to gymnastics this next year. She also took an Irish dance class this summer, which she enjoyed very much. If you ask her about it, prepare yourself for a little jig.

July

We went bowling. They loved it.

 We bought a new car! With kid #3 fast approaching, it was time to take the plunge and buy a minivan. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to driving a large car, and I'm still sad we had to sell my old one, but I love all the space and convenience of a minivan!

 Waiting for fireworks at the Shoreline golf course

I let Livia do my hair and make-up one day. Pretty sure she used a month's worth of eye makeup on me, most of which is actually on my cheek, but you can't really see it in the picture.

 One Saturday we went berry picking at Gizdich Ranch and hit up the beach afterwards. I had to skip the apple slush this year due to the gestational diabetes that has unfortunately graced my life for the past three months. It is certainly not the worst thing that can happen during pregnancy, but man, is it a pain!

The girls both took swimming lessons, and Livia finally figured out how to swim!! There was great rejoicing.

 We went to an A's game, and Livia actually got quite into it and was incredibly excited when they won with a walk-off home run.

Some of the biggest news of the summer is that my little brother, Jon, got married! We drove up to Portland for the wedding, and it was lovely. We love his bride, Lindsey, and are so excited to have her join the family!

 My brothers

I swear, every time I pull out the camera they strike some weird pose.

 Livia got creative at the dessert bar.

Had to sneak in a belly shot. I was just about 8 months here.

We drove through the Redwood National Forest on our way home

 Caught this cute moment in our hotel one night. Ü

 We stopped at a remote and unique little restaurant in some teeny town in Northern California. Notice the armchairs with doilies and the carousel horse in the background. There were about 6 of those, a dozen deer heads on the walls, and a koi pond in the rear where they let the girls feed the fish.

 Jane took a ballet class this summer. She loved it, and was so adorable trying to follow instructions.

Though she wasn't always that great at following instructions...

August

Jane finally was tall enough to ride the Frog Hopper at Happy Hollow! She was one happy little girl!

We had to say good-bye to some good friends this summer, including the Lindes

and the Taylor family (and the Jacksons and Naseaths, not pictured)

 Livia and Ally did preschool together for two years, and Liv was so sad to see her go!

My friend Rachel set up a Girl's Night Out/baby shower for me. So fun to have a night out with friends! I love these ladies!

Livia lost both front teeth this summer. She was thrilled! She told me today that she saw the tooth fairy fluttering away that night. Ü

School just started this week: 1st grade for Livia and preschool for Jane. They were both so excited, and so happy to go. I love that they love school, and I am so glad that summer break is now over! It was really great at first, but those last few weeks, where the girls had had a little too much togetherness time and started getting all catty, were pretty killer. A little space is a good thing.

In case you were curious, I am due in less than 2 weeks!

And just to make this post even longer, I crossed off a few more goals:

#25 Reconnect with an old friend

It helped that my friend Amy, whom I've known since middle school, just moved to Palo Alto!

#26 Potty train Jane

I'm officially calling this one done. 

#33 Finish the Hornblower series

It's a good one, guys. And one of the very few times when Chase and I have both enjoyed the same books. 

#40 Go on a family picnic

#77 Host a game night