Some of Lydia's friends

Nana can't take her eyes off of me

Great Grandma

David

Grandma

Tracy

Reflecting on her first few weeks

Aubrie checking on her sister

Aubrie meeting Lydia

We arrived home from the hospital on September 3rd around 6pm. My mom was waiting with Aubrie who was anxiously waiting to meet her little sister. As you see...it went better than we could have ever hoped. She was very excited and wants to hold her and hug her. Attached are some pictures from the day. Everything seems to be as it should...and I couldn't imagine not having both of them here at home.

Aubrie wanted to show Lydia all of her toys. She kept patting the ground and saying "come on baby" as if she wanted her to come and sit by her so she could explain all of her things.

Aubrie wanted to show Lydia her ball, but didn't understand why she couldn't throw it to her.

Grandma of four

Proud Great Grandma

Bath time!

Lydia's first bath! She likes it, just like her big sister loves the bath.

Here is a flashback of Aubrie in the tub

...And baby makes four

Lydia June Waldeck was born on September 2nd, at 3:11pm.

She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and 20.5 inches.

She is perfect!

Thank you for all of the well wishes and prayers.

Many photos and details to follow.

The big day

Justin and I took Aubrie for a long walk around Roscoe Village in the hopes of "getting things moving." After a day full of contractions being 7-10 minutes apart they finally started to stop me in my tracks. When we got home, I called my doctor to see what she wanted me to do since I had my 40 appointment scheduled for the morning (yes....40 weeks, 9 months my foot, you are REALLY pregnant for 10 months). She told me to page her at 7am and she will move my appointment up and she will see me in Labor & Delivery since she was on call, but for me to come in sooner if I went into labor. Knowing I may go into labor over night, or that I at least had an early appointment, Tracy came and spent the night at our house in case we had to leave quickly so she can stay with Aubrie.

I woke up at 4am with very strong contractions every 9 minutes. I tried to go back to sleep, but they continued to wake me. I showered, ate some cereal, and took care of a few last minute things. I paged my doctor and she gave me the option of coming in early or waiting until my appointment at 9am. She said if I was not in active labor at that time they could only keep me if I was going to be induced. That was a decision I had to make before I got there. We decided to take our time and see if labor progressed on its own...and it did.

Before we left for the hospital the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and as the doctor predicted I could no longer talk through them. We arrived at the hospital at 9am and went straight to Labor & Delivery instead of to my appointment since my doctor was on call. Dr. Thorpe sent us right to be admitted in a room before she even checked me in triage. My mom showed up with snacks and something to knit to pass the time since Aubrie's birth day lasted over a whole day! By noon I had an epidural, which much to my surprise only worked on one side again. While this wasn't fun, I know many people give birth without any medication so it could have been much worse. While my mom and sister went to get something to eat, Dr. Thorpe came in and broke my water and I was dilated to 5cm. Within the hour I was not having fun anymore...I dilated to 9cm very quickly and by the time Dr. Thorpe was paged to come back it was "go time."

Lydia June Waldeck was born at 3:12pm. I am blessed to say she is perfect.

Ready to go....

Here she is!

8 lbs 8.6 oz! That's a big girl!

Hi daddy!

Having a moment with mommy

My parents

Hello Grandma

Hi Papa

Proud Grandparents

Aunt Bina

Getting settled in our room

Getting some rest after a long day

Hello everyone!

Ok...I know what you are all thinking. Where is she? Well, we are wondering the same thing. Aside from being a bit anxious, everything is going well. The first due date I was given was September 1st. Later I was told it was looking like August 28th. I had an appointment yesterday and I am dilated 2cm. If you have had a baby before, you know you can be dilated for weeks before anything happens. I have been walking as much as possible without trying to wear myself out. I think I am beyond nesting at this point because I feel like I am straightening up every minutes. I think she is taking her time because I am too prepared. My bags are packed and in the car, the house is all set, I have my toes painted red and I am ready to go! We will keep you all posted, and I am sure Justin will be giving a play by play via Facebook.

Until then...scroll on down and see what we have been up to this past month!

The Flynn's wedding reception

Christina and Brian were married this past December, and they had their wedding reception on August 7th at the Northwest Cafe in Chicago. They wanted a small party to celebrate with their friends and families. We all had a great time,

and we continue to wish them all the happiness in the world!

The Northwest Cafe does not have a website, but you can check them out on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/Northwest-Cafe/200274275393#

The Flynns

My grandma with all of the boys, and the bride

Father - daughter dance

The girls were seeing if we would have another guest arrive

Jennifer, Tracy, Me, Christina, and Kitty

Brian and his mother-in-law

My grandma dancing with my dad

Three generations

Mom, Grandma, and Jennifer

Justin...being Justin

Some of the girls

Justin dancing with my grandma

The Wyatts and the Waldecks

Grandma and the boys

The mother-in-law

Parents of two-to-be

Hello?

Just like prom...

The Pfeffers

My grandma and Jennifer

.....and they lived happily ever after

Meanwhile....the kids had a sleepover at our house with the babysitter.

They had a great time playing together the whole week.

Cheese!