Look Who's One Week Old

Yesterday was Rachel's One Week Old mark. I decided to do a little photo shoot with my new camera, and here are the results. My mom helped me and we laughed at how hard it actually is to take pictures of a newborn. I had to keep stopping to nurse her, get her warm, etc. but once she was deeply asleep it all worked out. Having a little girl is great. It's like playing dress up every day. When I was younger I loved to play "house" and dress up my cabbage patch kids in little outfits. Now the dream is a reality. Just today I painted her nails. It's too much fun! Here are some samples of the pictures we took.

Daddy's Little Girl

Ever since I started having children I have always wanted a daughter. I never pictured my life without a little girl. After having four boys I was contemplating if I really wanted to try again for my girl. John felt quit content with our four boys so he wasn't too excited when we found out I was pregnant last December. It was very scary at first since I had two miscarriages the previous year. But I was willing to try one more time.
Last April I had an ultrasound and we found out it is a girl! Of course I cried right away because of all my prayers that were finally answered. John reacted quit differently. He really wanted another boy and was a little shocked it was a girl. He didn't say it out loud but I could tell something was definitely bothering him. We talked about it later and he expressed his concerns. First, most of the girls in his classes that he teaches are high strung drama queens who don't do well with advice etc. Let's just say that the girls are his biggest challenge at work. Mainly because he gets his feelings hurt from their reactions. Second, he took a class at BYU some years ago and discovered that the most important relationship is the daddy-daughter relationship. This put a lot of responsibility on John's shoulders. So he was stressing out about having a teenage daughter before she was even born! And lastly, we have heard from everyone that girls are more high strung and need a lot more attention than boys. This made John feel protective of our boys. He didn't want all of our attention to be taken away from the boys he already loved so much. All of these were valid concerns, and when we told others about them, they would just say, "Oh wait until you see her. Everything will change."

And guess what? They were right. Last week when I had a

c-section we were both so nervous. I was nervous that it would

come out a boy. And John was nervous about having a girl. We sat in the room waiting for the doctor to come and were both waiting in silence for about a half hour. What would this little girl do to our lives? Then, when they finally pulled her out, I cried with relief that it was really a girl. And John just melted in the sweetness that this little girl brought with her. I watched as they weighed her and cleaned her up and was awed by the reaction that John was giving her. He watched her every move and made sure to tell me all the details about her- her weight, how much hair she has, etc. I could tell that he was deeply in love.

Over the next couple days when I was in the hospital, John just loved to come and hold her. He brought the boys in one morning and said, "I caught myself speeding to get here so that I could just hold her." It was fun to hear him talk to her and everytime he did, she would open her eyes and just stare at him. He would often say, "You are daddy's little girl." I was overcome with emotion as I watched my husband fall in love with our daughter. We know it may be tough at times but the love we have for her will outlive the difficulties. Geez, we never knew she could be so sweet!

Sweet Baby Ray (Rachel Elizabeth) Is Born

Early Wednesday morning, Sweet Baby Ray was born. It was a c-section delivery, and the boys were able to witness the whole thing through a window. Their word for it is "gross." Mom Fossum hasn't slept since she witnessed the whole ordeal along with the boys and Aunty Liz. As you can see, Sweet Baby Ray is beautiful (she takes after her daddy...ok, her mommy). Both Sarah and John were surprised to see Rachel emerge with a full head of brown hair and plump as a stuffed turkey (9 lbs. 7 oz.) since the four brothers were all white-haired and wirey. Her brown hair and features indicate that Dad's genes reign supreme in her little body (poor buggar).

Three in One

A few weeks ago I was given three baby showers in one week. I feel truly blessed. This girl is going to be so spoiled! I don't think I could ask for better friends and family who have supported me through all this. Now.... we just need a baby to go with it!

The first shower was with my bookclub at Liz's house. She and Laurel threw it for me. They did a rubber duckie theme and had ice cream sundaes and duckie sugar cookies. We also did pedicures and soaked our feet per my request! I don't think we even talked about books that night, but we did make flower bows for ourselves or our daughters and opened lots of cute girl clothes. It was a night to remember especially the few seconds of rain that fell on us! The only person missing that night was Kristin who was out of town. We also missed all you girls who have moved: Cumorah, Michelle, Becky and Frenchie. It's never the same without you all here!

The second shower was with John's family- his sister's, mother, and grandmother. We drove up to Salt Lake and had a great time at Ingrid's house. This picture of the Salt Lake valley was taken off her balcony. She has an awesome view! Grandma Flo gave me a quilt that she made. All of my boys got one from her too! She is 97 or so and super amazing. I felt so honored to have a quilt made by her for my daughter. It will definitely be a family heirloom. My mother-in-law loves pigs so she gave me a princess piggy bank. It is seriously the cutest thing ever and I have it sitting on my baby's dresser. She wants to put money in it every year for her birthday. Isn't that a cute idea? The pig has a tiara and a little tutu on, it's so cute! I got a lot of cute little outfits and we ate tacos and played games. Grandma Flo beat us at Skip-bo, she's so competitive! It was a great girls night out! Thank you ladies for all that you did for me, I felt definitely spoiled!

The last shower was held in my neighbor's backyard. She has a very beautiful garden. I felt like I was in a reception center. She had a chocolate fountain so you can only imagine the yummy treats that we ate there. I felt a little embarrased because I received so many gifts. I'm not used to being so pampered. I love all the women in my ward and feel so blessed to have them as my friends. I had two other friends come up as well that I have known forever. That meant a lot to me! My sister Liz also came representing my family. She is the only family member that lives by me so my mom and sister Becky are saving their gas to come when the baby is actually here! But thank you Liz for taking time out of your busy schedule for me that night. Thank you all you beautiful women for making this night and week so special!

Anyone Need Family Pictures?

Aren't these eyes adorable? I just bought a new camera, it's a Canon Rebel and I'm loving it so far! This is Ben, he is kind of my guinea pig as I was messing around with the camera's computer software. You can cut the picture and do close ups, it has awesome editing tools. I can't wait to get my baby's little feet! I also took a picture of Liz at bookclub and there were people standing by her, so I cropped it so you can only see her. Isn't she beautiful? She didn't know I took this. She was just talking to our friends. Let me know if any of you want me to take some pictures of your family or kiddies, I'm not a photographer but I have an awesome camera!

My Baby's Room

Here it is: the long awaited pictures of the before and after of baby Ray's room. This room used to be the twin's room when we first moved in, so it was tan with a teddy bear border, which was so hard to take off I would never recommend wall paper to anyone. Then the room turned into a guest room when we moved Enoch and Isaac into a bigger room. So to the boys it is still known as the guest room. I told John that I wanted a light pink room with white bead board. He tried to talk me into something like purple or green, but I said if we are only having one girl it better be a pink room. So he painted the ceiling and the closet white first, then put up the bead board and painted that white. Finally he got to the pink and I think even he enjoyed the color we chose. It's very soft and feminine. Although he'll never admit it, I think John really enjoyed fixing up her room. It helps him prepare for his little baby daughter.

My sister Liz and I just sold our vinyl lettering company, so I printed off a bunch of stickers for Rachel's wall before we sold it. We are naming her Rachel Elizabeth, so the sign has Elizabeth through it if you can't see it in the picture. I also made her some jewelry: binkie holders, anklets and bracelets that are hanging under her name. I found her bedding at Walmart of all places and saved like $100. It's exactly the colors I wanted for her room: pink, dark pink, and lime green. I just bought a new Canon Rebel digital camera so when she comes I can take some pictures of my boys with her and put them in the frames. We are now just anxiously awaiting her arrival. The boys keep telling me to go jump on the trampoline to get her out. She is almost too active at night so I'm savoring the moments that I can sleep. But after this week I will be doing some stair climbing!