So Here's the Story...

On Friday September 14, 2012 Sloane Mendenhall made a dramatic entry into this world, and here is her story...
I woke up at 4:15 a.m. feeling my first contraction, another one came a few minutes later so I knew this must be the day! I got up to take a warm shower thinking that might help soothe my contractions.   Since I had been induced with Laney I thought "Man, I don't remember them hurting this bad with Marli".   Well by the time I got out of the shower the contractions were getting a lot stronger and closer together.  So I told Reno he better call his mom to come be with the girls.  So at this point,  in my mind I'm thinking "I'll just get ready, gather my stuff so when his mom gets here we can go".  How quickly things can change - All of the sudden my contractions were REALLY STRONG and one on top of the other, I hardly had a break to even breathe! My mindset now switched to "I just need to get some clothes on, and get to the hospital for my epidural, (haha!).  So I made my way to my closet where I put on some clothes (luckily a skirt).  Then when Reno came up from putting stuff in the car I said, "We need to say a little prayer and then GO!" (still just thinking how badly I want my epidural:)).
Well by the time I made it down the stairs and into the garage my water broke and my body started automatically pushing! I honestly thought I was going to have my baby on the floor of my garage!!  Luckily Reno was not going to let that happen, he quickly got me into the car and raced to the hospital. It literally took us one, maybe two minutes to get there.  By the time we pulled in the parking lot I could feel the baby coming.  We pulled up to the main doors where Reno jumped out to get help then I called him back saying, "There's no time! Get back here, she's coming!!"  So he quickly ran back and then there, in the front seat of our car, Reno delivered our beautiful baby girl only 45 minutes after my first contraction!  As he held her in his arms we both looked at each other and I said "Did we just have our baby in a freakin' car???"  Shortly after the nurses came down, wrapped up the baby and cut the chord then rolled me on a stretcher up to Labor and Delivery (where I neither labored or delivered haha!). 

 First family pic

 8 hrs old!

 These girls are smitten with their baby sister

It still feels like a dream at times, and Reno and I can finally tell the story without getting a little shaky, but this is definitely an experience and a moment that the two of us will never forget.  Reno was so amazingly calm through the whole thing and handled everything like a champ.  There is not anyone I would have wanted or desperately needed by my side through this whole thing more than him! We are so grateful that, all things considered, everything went well and our baby is perfectly healthy and perfectly beautiful.

Spring is Here!

I feel like nothing very eventful has happened the past couple months, but then April comes and we have been busy, busy, busy! Most of it has been the fun kind of busy so I can't complain.  We have been enjoying all the warm spring weather by spending as much time outside as we can playing with friends and cousins.

 

Natalie and Liberty came to visit from Montana and my girls could not get enough of Lib! They were giggling at everything she did and wanting to constantly hold her.  I guess this is good practice for their baby sister who will be coming in September:)

  

We are so happy to have Olivia right next door to us. Everyday Marli asks if she can go ride scooters with her.  She will even go knock on her door and ask if she can play, all by herself - which is HUGE for Marli!

This is my cute niece Sabrina with her "princesses in training".  Sabrina does such a good job entertaining my girls and they LOVE when she does.  (We always joke that this payback for all the years I spent babysitting Sabrina when she was younger)

 

Our Little Monster is Two!

I wasn't going to have a big party for Laney's birthday this year, but when I saw this idea for a monster party it was just too perfect to pass up.  Laney is our sweet, mischievous, funny and busy little girl.  Twenty minutes before people were supposed to be arriving for the party I looked up to find Laney coloring all over the walls, chairs, windows and floor with a dark purple marker! If this had been the first time and I didn't know they were washable markers then I'm sure I would have freaked out. But because I new it was a simple clean up I decided to leave it there for all our guests to see:)

 

Some of our monster friends

 

 

I was inspired by my neighbor Amy to make this pinata because Marli had informed me that you can't have a birthday party without a pinata.

 

Laney loves being the center of attention.  She was bouncing around with a big smile on her face as each of her cousins came in.  Happy Birthday Laney! We Love You!!

 

Easter started a little early this year with the annual Easter Egg Hunt at my parents' house.  My mom is so creative in the little scavenger hunt she comes up with for each of the kids.  Marli had literally been counting down to this day for a month and she was not disappointed.    

Laney and Dad were a little worn out after the hunt and both fell asleep while reading a story. 

 

 

Easter morning was exciting as always.  It gets more fun every year as the girls get older.  This years biggest hit was the kites that the Easter Bunny left.  We spent all day at both G.G. Nore and Paul's and Mimi and Papa's houses flying kites.  Thank goodness for such a beautiful day!

 

As if we hadn't had enough fun in one weekend we decided to go to the zoo since the older kids were off for spring break.  Laney really did like the carousel even though she looks a little nervous in this picture.  Marli would have stayed on the carousel all day if we let her.  She had to make sure she rode the giraffe because it was her favorite animal she saw. 

Happy New Year!

It has been way too long and too much has happened to try to catch up son everything so here is our past 4 months in a nutshell -

Daddy-daughter dates...

A Very Happy Halloween...

Chasing Laney...
Looking for snow...
Making (and eating) lots of Thanksgiving pies...
Spending time with Reno's fam...

Turning 30!!...
Learning to ice skate - Marli's new favorite hobby...

Christmas Eve Skiing...

Christmas Nativity with 3 dang cute angels...

A Merry Cabin Christmas...

Marli turns 4...

Well we survived the rest of our crazy summer of living in hotels. We are now back in Utah and so happy to be home. Reno actually surprised us and came home a week earlier than we were expecting so we have been busy trying to enjoy whatever summer weather we have left.

This is what our breakfast, lunch and dinner looked like for the past month.

Literally living out of our suitcase:)

These cute girls kept us entertained all day long. I think Marli and Laney would have gone crazy (me too!) if they didn't have Oaklee, Maddie and Brynli to play with.

The highlight of being in Washington was going to meet my best friend Natalie up in Coeur d'Alene. It was such a cute town - we went to lunch, did some shopping, went on beautiful cruise on the lake and played at the beach. It was the perfect getaway from our hotel life.
Missing Alaska - Marli was so excited to see this moose sculpture on the streets of Coeur d' Alene, at least she could get close to this one.
The cruise was beautiful but not very relaxing. Marli and Laney wanted to run all over the boat. This picture pretty much sums up how it all went.

Marli soaking up some sun

Seeing the animals at Thanksgiving Point with Grandma

We have been able to spend time with Grandma Gunn since we've been home. This was after we helped Marli and Grandma paint their nails.
For Labor Day we went with my parents and some cousins on a hike. Marli did great hiking on her own and not having to be carried even though she was tired. We stuffed Laney in the Baby Bjorn even though she has probable outgrown it, but if we let her loose she probably would have run right off the mountain.


Marli and Macie were exhausted after the hike they both crashed on my bed when we got home.


Marli started preschool this month! She is growing up so fast and I'm not sure if I am ready for this whole school thing. She has been so excited to go to school, but I think it was mostly so she could wear her new clothes and get a backpack. She has been loving it so far and is already impressing us with how smart she is:)


LAKE POWELL!!!
Reno and I just got back from the most amazing trip to Lake Powell. It has been way too long since I have been there so we (I) couldn't wait to get in the water. It was four days full of great friends, lots of volleyball and horseshoes, wakeboarding, surfing, eating way too much food, laying out and the BLOB!!

Proud champs of the Lake Powell Olympics