Jaycee Elise Collins!

Born Friday March 25th at 2:29pm, weighing in at 7lbs 4oz, 20.5 inches long. She surprised us with her beautiful brown hair.
Paij was induced Thursday night. Paij had a c-section with Morgan due to failure to progress in her labor. It was important for Paij to try to not have a c-section this time around. Almost one week after her due date(the 18th) she was induced. She was started on pitocin at about 10:30 on Thursday night. She labored through the night as they gradually increased the dosage of the pitocin. Paij failed to progress for the first 12 hours of her labor. It was discouraging and looking more like we were headed for another c-section. Then all of a sudden something changed. Paij jumped to 6cm in dilation, and within 45 minutes was to a 10. Paij pushed for an hour and our little beauty was here.

I am so proud of Paij for the courage she showed in choosing to deliver VBAC and the strength she showed throughout the labor and delivery. My gratitude for her and the charity she has shown towards this new life through the entire pregnancy has made me admire her all the more.

Paij is recovering well and we could not ask for a more beautiful and healthy daughter. We are filled with gratitude. We are excited to share pictures of our newest little princess with our friends and family. We hope you enjoy them as we are not able to be with each of you during this special time.










We couldn't let Jaycee get all of the attention. Morgan has been great with Jaycee and is adjusting to being a big sister much better than we had expected. It is sweet to see a bond forming between them already.

39 weeks and counting

I haven't taken many maternity pics this time around so I thought I would at least make one post. Brent's work threw us a baby shower at a restaurant today, so I actually got dressed. Poor Brent, keeps coming home to me in his tee-shirts. I've been having lots of contractions and hope this baby will come soon. I'm planning on doing VBAC so no induction for me. We're just playing the waiting game but we'll keep you updated :)

Our Bouquets

Our Valentine's celebrating is pretty low key this year. I guess it usually is but especially this year. We had a ward party Friday night, Brent had a contact lens symposium Saturday and Sunday, and he has 24hour duty today. We did get to have lunch together today though, so that was nice. Anyway, he got me a bouquet of flowers Saturday and Morgan and I made him a candy bouquet to take to him at work today. She had a great time picking out the candy and was so excited to give it to daddy. It was pretty cute.
I am so grateful for the love of my life and for all the joy he brings to me. I am so blessed!

Sewing

I was buying material to make the new baby a blanket and felt bad that I wasn't making anything for Morgan. So I bought this material and made her a little dress. I rarely sew from a pattern so each time it's a challenge but I usually enjoy it. As I did with this. For some reason she thinks it's a princess dress and has to put it on to have a tea party with her Belle doll. I love that she loves to wear it and asks me to put it on fairly regularly.


This is a baby Kimono I saw in a craft book my friend gave me and I loved it. I had to make a few changes to make it work but I'm happy with how it turned out. As you can see, it has an envelope at the bottom and at the hands if I want.

The back of the quilt.

Closeup

Finally, my little quilt. I made one for Morgan 2 days before she was born with help from a friend and decided this new little one needs a quilt made by mom too. I got the idea from the Marta Stewart Magazine and kind of made it my own with many suggestions from my husband and brother. I'm happy with how it turned out as well.

Other Random Pictures

At Balboa Park. She has been obsessed with sitting on animals lately.

San Diego Zoo

Natural History Museum. I'm not sure you were supposed to sit on this one but that didn't stop dad from encouraging her since mom thought it was disgusting.


Safari Park (Wild Animal Park)


Play time with dad.

Sunset Cliffs

My brother Jarom's 25th b-day.

Random Christmas

I was a terrible picture taker this Christmas and therefore was not too excited about posting. (Which is why it has taken me two months to do it.)I figured I should post something for my own memories sake so here are some random pics from before during and after Christmas.
The first picture is our living room before we took all the presents to our parents. I left on Dec. 11th and didn't really have anyone over before then so at least I'll post my decorations on here so someone can see them.

We made Gingerbread houses from a box this year and it was pretty fun.


Morgan in her cute Christmas dress.

Making Gingerbread cookies with Grandma Hunter.


Christmas morning and day.


All the Hunter grand-kids.
Hunter family Christmas picture.



Hotel Del Coronado. Brent and I had a little date before Christmas and walked around and through this beautiful hotel on Coronado Island.

Bucket List

Everyone has their lists of places to see and things to do before they call it quits. This past weekend I got to check one of those places off of my list. 'The Wave' is located on the Utah/Arizona border and is a photographers paradise. We were lucky to get permits the same day we wanted to do the hike. Only 20 people are allowed to enter the region each day. Paij's brother Jarom and I ventured out and enjoyed this unique sight and its surrounding beauty.



When I feel like I need my batteries recharged I can always count on nature to get me revitalized. I didn't think nature could be improved upon. I have discovered that I feel a deeper level of connection with nature when I get to share it with Morgan. It is so fulfilling to see her enjoying the outdoors with all its curiosities and wonders.




These pictures were taken in Jenny Canyon at Snow Canyon State Park. This was a great little hike for the kids. It was also a great little hike for Dad because it got him out of having to clean up the house and packing up our suitcase for the trip back home.

Jarom, Paij's brother, and her nephew Dylan and I were able to enjoy some "guy time." We attempted to hike Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. We were unable to make it all the way to the top due to ice along the narrow path along the cliffs. We were still able to enjoy some great views and actually witnessed a small avalanche while eating our lunch up on a ridge.
In addition to Zion we spent some time scrambling and bouldering on the red cliffs above Saint George.

Here we are squeezing through one of the deep cracks in the rock formations. It was a lot of fun exploring and looking for little hidden areas to maneuver into.

Overall the trip was AWESOME. Thank you Haylee for making the trip down and letting us stay in your beautiful home. It was great to hang out with your kids and get to all visit. We hope to do it again sooner than later.