She has reached double digits!

Happiest birthday wishes to Kemiah! Dad made blueberry pancakes this morning and started to freak out a little because we needed to go to Midland for Stake Conference and it was already after 8 and we needed to be there early so they could practice with the choir. He was starting to send kids off to get dressed while he cooked the pancakes. I walked into the kitchen, looked at the microwave and said, "It's okay. This clock hasn't been changed yet." I changed the clock back an hour and Kevin sighed! What a relief to gain an hour in the morning!

We enjoyed Stake Conference with our new born baby, who slept through it all. We came home and finished her cake, Kemiah style. We enjoyed California rolls for dinner (except for those who don't like them, they ate cold cereal) and we all had lots to eat.

Party time!

What a sweet brother!

Girls to her right.

A whole line of girls on the other side of the table!

Singing "happy birthday"

and bringing out the cake!

Naomi was excited to see the cake and pass it down.

Crocheting patterns to make adorable animals.

She will have so much fun,

once I teach her the language of crocheting

so she can understand the instructions.

Yummy chewy candies!

Fabric to make a skirt.

Whatever it is she's excited about it.

Carcassonne - a new game Tamara taught us

when she was visiting back in October.

No kidding - I had these when I was a kid.

They are back and so fun!

She asked for her own maze ball!

Grandma and Grandpa Nichols present.

Card with $10 - of course.

No way! That's just what she wanted!

Grammy and Gaffa's card!

2 Nancy Drew books

Storks and Secret Life of Pets DVDs and Blu Rays.

What could it be?

A new watch - since her old one died.

Yummy ice cream cake - 

cookie dough and cookies and creme ice creams!

With homemade fudge sauce

and cookie pieces in the middle!

Happy birthday to the one of a kind Kemiah. She is so energetic and excited about life. She is curious and creative. She shares and cares! We love you!

Owchie Oops

Ben was working on trimming some brush at the office, and he almost cut off part of his thumb. He was using a hand saw/bow saw instead of the clippers. I'm just gla it should heal up just fine.

Going home!

Kevin came to the hospital around 9:30 am, did some charting and appointment making and so forth so that we could be discharged. They checked baby's bilirubin levels and then clipped her electronic device off. She was ready to go, and so was I! Her discharge weight was 7 pounds 14 ounces so we'll see how long it takes her to get back up to birth weight. Let's go home!

Dad gets some more cuddle time with the baby!

While the younger ones wait for their turns.

My oldest and youngest!

Forever.

I love that he loves to hold the new babies!

We spent the day taking turns holding the baby and spending time together.

Time to meet the gang!

I always love this picture after having a baby.

All my babies gathered around me to welcome the newest member!

Such sweetness!

And, of course, they all wanted to hold her!

Even Daddy got a turn.

He only held her for a brief time after she was born.

It is love!

We had a nice visit and everyone was so happy to see her! They were happy to see me, too. It was a nice break in my otherwise quiet stay at the hospital. I sure love our family!

First day of life outside the womb.

These were taken before her bath...

Bath time!

Again, she enjoyed hanging out under the heater.

Cleaning all the gunk out of her hair.

She seemed to enjoy the water on her head.

Clean baby!

So much hair for one of my babies!

Just going to love this little sweet thing forever! She was a bit fussy through the night/early morning and I worried she wasn't getting any food. So I told the nurse, "She either needs a pacifier, a bottle, or Mylicon for gas issues." The nurse brought me a pacifier. Even after 9 other babies, I still can't get this baby to latch on without it hurting. Hopefully the pain will go away after she gets a little bigger and figures out the whole sucking and latching bits. We shall see.

She is here! Our last little bundle of joy!

I had hoped to have her in October, but once Halloween passed I figured it wasn't meant to be. I guess I could have just sat back and waited but I was ready to have this little one join our family on the outside. I went to the YMCA on Halloween afternoon and walked on the treadmill for an hour. Then I went back to the Y on Wednesday night to walk for over an hour. I was ready to have this baby. I had a few contractions but nothing that sent me into full on labor. All day Thursday I had strong contractions but they were at least 10 minutes apart, and usually 20 minutes, so I knew that wasn't good enough. By dinner time, they were getting closer together and stronger in my back! Yuck! I hate back labor! Kevin came home and we talked about what to do and I worried about having my last labor without an epidural. We left the house at 6:56 pm - all the kids excited that we would be having the baby! 

Once at the hospital, they put me in a room to check on the baby and my contractions. All the while the back labor was getting worse (so much like Camdilyn's that I was really scared). The contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and very painful. They started the IV and Kevin squeezed on the bag to get the fluids in me as quickly as possible. They drew my blood and then transferred me to a room. I laid in the bed and tried to control myself and tell myself that I could do this. The contractions were now 1-2 minutes apart and my back hurt so bad. I eventually lost it, slapped Kevin in the stomach with each contraction and said, "I can't do this. This is not good! I just want an epidural!" Finally at 9:10 the anesthesiologist came in and I was overjoyed. I didn't think I could sit up with the contractions coming so close together but I wanted that epidural so I did and I am so glad I did because it was almost immediate relief in my back! I was so grateful and it was so wonderful to have the relief so quickly. It was only a couple more contractions before I couldn't feel them at all and I was in a happy place once more.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure dropped and so they were concerned about the baby. They put an oxygen mask on me and added some medication to increase my blood pressure. I watched my nurse, doctor, and the anesthesiologist all stand there watching the monitors and making sure baby and I were okay. After a little while my body responded, the blood pressure came back up and the mask was removed.

Around 10:15 we decided to go ahead and push. (Hind sight we should have just waited and let the contractions push the baby down, but I was excited to have my baby.) I pushed four or five times and then she was coming. I pushed a couple more times and she was here! Born at 10:29 pm with lots of dark hair and covered in vernix!

Happy to hang out under the heater!

Dr. Daddy checking her out!

Already sticking her tongue out at us!

Weighing in at 8 lb 2.8 oz.

Measuring in at 20 inches!

Happy Mommy!

Family photo!

Kevin taking a selfie with my SLR camera - 

not as easy as a phone.

She is so perfect and we are so happy she is here with us. We are so blessed and I am grateful for all the support through the delivery.