More pictures from the hospital...

We were so lucky to only have to spend 24 hours in the hospital this go around. Both Mommy and Emily were very healthy and given the thumbs up to go home that next day. But even with our short stay, we still took plenty of pictures. Here are some more pictures of our stay and our beautiful babies!

Daddy and Emily Grace, spending our first night together.

There's nothing like waking up next to your brand new baby girl.

Mommy and Baby getting a much needed nap that afternoon.

Emily went back to the nursery for a couple final checks before we were ready to go.

Kylie didn't want to let Emie out of her sight.

Hi Emie!!!!

Keeping an eye on baby sister.

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Emily Grace | A Baby Story

Emily joined the Kirby family at 6:53pm on July 1, 2010. She was 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and 19 inches long. Here is the story of that blessed day...

Mike and I woke up dark and early that morning and got ready to go to the hospital for our 5:30am induction appointment. Mimi, who came into town the day before, stayed home with Kylie that morning while we were getting ready for baby sister to arrive. We got to the hospital at 5:33, filled out our paper work and headed up to labor and delivery where we waited for our nurse to arrive and get my IV hooked up and the pitocin started. My labor nurse was Kathy. She was a firey little lady with a wit as quick as Mike's so it made her visits all that much more fun. We really got along great with her and were so happy she was my nurse that day.

Dr. Hannah finally came in at 9am to break my water and then my contractions started to pick up. Kylie and Mimi came to see us at the hospital at around 10:30. It couldn't have come soon enough. I missed my little girl and I wanted to savor every second I could with her while she was still our only child. (All morning my mom was sending us text updates and picture messages of Kylie as they were getting ready to come see us. It made the separation more bearable. Thanks, Mom!) We played in our hospital room, Kylie entertained us all with songs, dances, babies and just her silly self. She was so excited to see baby sister later that day. We brought our video camera along to capture the day and I'm so glad we did. Kylie's excitement was so precious and so fun to watch.

My contractions continued to intensify and by about 2pm I was ready for the most amazing medication known to man - my epidural! Once I got my epidural we were all able to relax. Mike took a little nap on the couch while I tried to rest in my bed and Mimi and Kylie went home for nap time. I was nervous that they would get home and then I would be fully dilated and ready for baby but it worked out that baby held out until right after they got back. I really wanted to make sure Kylie could come back into the room right after baby sister was born and it worked out perfectly. All day my contractions had been so inconsistent and my labor was a lot longer than we were anticipating but finally, at about 6:30, Dr. Hannah came in to check me again and see if we were ready. By that time my epidural had really worn down and I could feel a lot of pressure and I felt like we were ready to push. Dr Hannah told the nurse to get a table ready, had me push a couple times and said, "alright, let's have a baby!" After only about 10 minutes of pushing, she was here!!! We heard her sweet little cry, Dr. H set her on my chest while the nurse rubbed her down and she just lie there contently staring up at me. It was such an amazing moment. I asked if she was okay because she wasn't crying, but she was as healthy as could be, just so content and she has had that peaceful temperament ever since.

Mimi and Kylie came in after Mike and I were able to spend a few precious moments with our new beautiful baby girl. Watching Kylie come into the room to see her baby sister was so surreal. It was at that moment that I looked down at our new little baby and her big sister and realized we were now a family of four. AMAZING!

That night in the hospital with our new little baby was so special. I felt great, my baby was so healthy and I was there with my wonderful husband. We didn't sleep much, but it was because of all the excitement over our new little princess. I spent most of the night just staring at her.

That next morning we decided on a name for our baby girl:

Emily Grace Kirby

And she completely fits the name perfectly in every way. 

We are so in love with Miss Emily and are so excited she is here! She is so healthy and strong and such a beautiful baby. (Seriously, we make cute kids!) She is such a great little girl and we can't wait to watch her learn and grow.



During our labor and after delivery, Mike, my mom and I took pictures of all of the details of that day. I wanted to make sure we had every little thing captured so we could remember and share the story Emily's birth.

Welcome, Emily Grace! 

We love you!!!

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Emily Grace Kirby

Emily Grace Kirby came into this world at 6:53 pm on July 1, 2010 weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 19 inches long. 

So healthy and so perfect! 

More to come...

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3 more days

Kylie's been practicing being Mama's big helper.

Her babies are always well fed, with clean clothes, a fresh diaper and are usually swaddled in a "nigh nigh." What a good helper!

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6 More Days...

Until this little girl will be a big sister!!!

...and she can't wait!

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One More Week!!!

Until we get to meet this little angel...

I think she looks just like Kylie with those yummy chubby cheeks and that little button nose! I feel like we cheated a little bit by getting a look at her before she actually arrives, but it really makes me even more excited to meet her! We had an ultrasound last Tuesday just to measure her size and make sure that she isn't going to be as big as Kylie was (yikes) and everything looked great! She is right on track and we are still all set to be induced on Thursday, July 1st, 2010!!! We are scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am and hopefully it wont be too long after that that we are holding our newest little beauty. It is all still a little surreal to me that there is even a baby inside of my tummy let alone the fact that I will be having her next week. It makes me really want to cherish these last few days when it will be just me and my buddy, Ky to storm the castle. And then, wow, I will have two little buddies. And Mike will be outnumbered 3-1. :)

Kylie is going to be such an amazing big sister. She loves "Baby Sissy." She loves to give her hugs and kisses and tickles and I think she really does understand that there is a baby in there and that we get to hold her next week. I have been asking her, "How do we hold Baby Sister?" and she cradles her arms and does rock-a-bye baby and gives kisses to the imaginary sister in her arms. Just thinking about watching the look on Kylie's face when she sees her baby for the first time makes me cry. I have already cried more times than I can count this week thinking about how amazing of a sister Kylie is going to be and how she is turning into such a big girl. Darn it... now I'm crying again... I blame it on the hormones...

Kylie has been with us to every prenatal appointment and she has caught on to the routine checks that the doctor does on Mommy's tummy. She especially likes the Doppler machine that lets us hear baby's heartbeat. She imitates the "whaa whaa whaa" sound all the time when referring to my belly. A couple weeks ago, she even started checking the baby's heartbeat at home using her xylophone mallet and holding it up to my tummy while saying "whaa whaa whaa." I love that little girl!

So here we are... The countdown is on.

We couldn't be more excited to start this new chapter of our lives as a family of four!

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Welcome Summer! Glad To See You!

Summer is in full swing here in Arkansas complete with all of the heat and humidity that come along with it. (I distinctly remember promising myself, after having Kylie, that I would never be 9 months pregnant during an Arkansas summer again... I should've listened...) Despite my own discomfort, we have been having a blast enjoying all of the sunshine! Here are some of the fun things we've been doing as often as we can.

Enjoying "Andy's Frozen Custard" or anything frozen for that matter!

Playing at the pool (and in our backyard kiddie pool too). Kylie LOVES playing in water.

Eating lots of corn on the cobb. Am I the only one that thinks this should be a year-round vegetable?

And lots of play-dates at the park. Kylie is a huge fan of the slides and the steering wheels (but still not a fan of the swings...).

In BABY news... we have set the induction date for July 1st! I cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy had flown by! But I guess that's what happens when you have a toddler to chase around all day. We have decided to induce my labor a week early based on the fact that Kylie was such a large baby and my doctor said that the second is usually a little bigger than the first (WHAT?!?). So to be safe, we are going early. We are going to have one last ultrasound next week- at 38 weeks -just to get an estimate of how big she really is and then the week after that, we will be holding our little angel in our arms! Unreal, isn't it? Kylie is really excited for Baby Sister's arrival but I'll tell you more about that in my next post...

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