Welcome to the World Chloe!!!

There is so much to blog, I don't know where to start. I will just post a bunch of pictures from now, all the way back to Christmas.

To begin, Chloe Grace Johnson was born on January 1st, 2009 at 6:46 am. She weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. I began having contractions on New Years Eve around 8:00. Ryan, Gramma Johnson, Maddie, Michael, and I were watching Prince Caspian (we sure know how to party on New Years). I was hopeful that maybe Chloe was going to enter the world like Michael, and therefore, we would be getting a tax cut. Unfortunately, the contractions were not coming fast enough or hard enough, and after a couple of hours, I realized we were not going make the tax cut, or the first New Years baby! Maybe I should have downed some castor oil right when they started, but that just seemed very unappealing to me.

We arrived at the hospital at almost exactly midnight, just in time to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I was dilated to about a 7 and contractions were every 5 minutes. I was progressing a lot slower than I did with Michael. A couple of hours later, I was given an epidural and this one worked! So different from my first birth. I couldn't even believe it, I felt nothing. Of course, i could not rest, I was too excited. My only complaint is that once they gave me the epidural, the contractions seemed to slow down. They were spiking at a 10 when they gave me the epidural and then (according to the monitor), they went down to an intensity of 6 or 7. She probably would have come a little sooner, but I will not complain.

All in all, everything went smooth. I loved my hospital stay. Some people hate the hospital and want to get home as soon as possible. I love the hospital stay because it is the only time I have with just me and the baby. I could tell I had a little postpartum when I found myself crying because the thought of being pregnant again was too much, but thinking of Chloe as my last newborn made me too sad. I am sure some of you can relate. Maddie came the second day and stayed with the baby and me for 4 hours. The three of us hung out in bed together and Maddie colored, watched TV, and held Chloe.

Maddie has been enjoying the baby, but the one that has surprised me is Michael. He LOVES the baby. I am still waiting to have him turn on me, but so far, he just wants to love the baby. He loves to give her kisses on her forehead and as soon as she cries, he gets very concerned.

Now, we are all doing well. I get less sleep than I was getting before the baby, but more than I anticipated (I think, it is hard to keep track of the middle of the night). Ryan has one more week home, so we will see how we feel when Ryan has to return to work. I really love having him home. Once he returns to work, the real world begins, and we have to start preparing to move. I have already started to prepare, I cry anytime my friends ask me about it :)

It is hard to believe that we struggled for so long just wanting a sibling for Maddie, and now we have two! I realize there are so many that are in the position I was in just a few years ago, and so I try to always remember to be grateful for the blessings of miracles. You can never hold a newborn and say they are anything but a miracle.

Anyhow, here are some pictures:


Chloe at one week!


Maddie with Chloe at the hospital







This is Michael's new smile for the camera



A BIG thanks to Gramma Johnson!!! She was great enough to stay two weeks with us (and trust me, two weeks with our family is not a piece of cake) and help with the baby coming!

We had a wonderful Christmas, but i would be lying if I did not say that we missed our family back home in Utah. This was our first Christmas away. I missed not opening our gifts from family in front of them and them seeing how excited my children were about them. Michael is just at that excited age! We love you all!

Now for some photos from before the baby:



Maddie opening Christmas presents. Two webkins, she was very excited!



Having fun at Amazing Jakes:)





Maddie in her new High School Musical outfit that she got for Christmas!




Maddie made Gramma Johnson a gift. It was a homemade frame with a picture that she found of Michael. Maddie is quite creative, you never know what you're going to get with her!





Here I am pregnant on Christmas Eve. My sister-in-law TC was pointing it out in case you couldn't figure out where the baby is located:)




Christmas Eve with the cousins!




Maddie at the nutcracker. Ryan and she go every year!