Lily 9 months and Domi almost 5

Hey Everybody,

I realize it has been FOREVER! But life as a mommy is quite busy :) Lily is 9 months old and Dom will be 5 next month. They are both doing so incredible. Lily just had her 9 month check and she is only 17.10 oz and in the 25th percentile for weight and the 35th for height. So she is a petite little thing. But make no mistake she is a little chunk. She waves and says "mama, dada, bye bye, na na" She is also crawling and cruising furniture and is very close to walking. She is definitely more active than Dominik was. I have a feeling she will be giving me a run for my money. She gets in to EVERYTHING! Yesterday she was playing in the toilet. But she is sooo much fun. She is so happy and fun loving and brightens up our household.

Dominik is smart beyond words. He is reading at a first grade level and starting to write sentences. We are in the process of trying to get him into a Charter school for kindergarten but we aren't having much luck. I worry if he isn't challenged he will get bored in school and cause trouble. But I know it will all work out. He is at a tough age as far as challenging everything I say and wanting to be in control. But all in all he is a great little boy. Yesterday he left me a note on the counter that said "I'm in bed" and he was up in his room napping. It was the cutest thing ever. I was so proud of him.

We are pretty much done with the house on the inside and now it's time to start on the outside. Which I'm sure the neighbors will be happy about. It's pretty scare when you drive up to it but the inside is gorgeous. Nic has done and incredible job. We are starting to decorate a little at a time but it's expensive. We are looking forward to summer and camping and getting to be outside. I can't wait to take the kids to park and on walks and stuff. So there is a quick update on our lives. I hope everyone is well. I'll try and write more often......

Our Baby Girl is here....

Okay so it's been a while since I've written but Our Little Princess arrived 6 weeks ago today! Lily Isabelle Arnold was born June 17th at 8:00 am via cesarean section. She weighed 9.1 lbs and was 22 1/2 inches long.
I was 41 weeks along and I just wasn't thinning or dilating so my Dr. would not allow me to try a VBAC so I had to go ahead and schedule the c section. Everything went well and Lily was happy and very healthy. She was the biggest baby in the nursery. I about died when they said how much she weighed. I could not believe I had a baby that big in my belly.
I stayed in the hospital for 4 days and then went home. Since we aren't in our house yet things were a bit hectic. Lily doesn't have a room which is fine because she sleeps with us anyway. The first few nights were rough because she had her days and nights mixed up. But I'm happy to report at 6 weeks she goes down about 10pm and sleeps until 4 am. We still have rough nights now and then but for the most part she is doing awesome.
She is different from Dominik with her temperament she gets fired up pretty quickly and screams over the littlest things. It took a minute to get used to at first. She loves to snuggle and be held and she will only sleep at night in mommy and daddy's bed. I have a feeling she may be there a while. Nic is beyond in love with her. He is such a cute daddy. Because of the house he isn't home much but we are almost in so things should get a little easier. Dominik is doing great with her and he is mommy's little helper. He will grab me diapers and wipes and such.
He is quite the sassy pants right now but I think that has more to do with his age than the baby. All in all he has adjusted pretty well. She started smiling at 4 weeks and is starting to coo. She is so strong she was holding her head up in the hospital. That is the benefit to have such a big baby they don't feel like you will break them. All my other friends are having small babies and mine came out ready to drive :) I am healing pretty good I am going nuts not being able to work out but I go to the Dr. Monday to get the hall pass to resume activities.
The house is coming along, we have finally painted and the tile is almost done. It looks gorgeous I am so proud of Nic for all his hard work. He and Dave have done an incredible job and it's finally starting to pay off. We will still have quite a bit to do when we move in but it looks like a completely different home that what we bought. Jenn his older sister has helped us with the tile and paint choices. She is an interior decorator and has excellent taste. We went with slate in our entry way and Nic surprised me with this beautiful travertine in the kitchen. Jenn's husband Chris is doing our cabinets and they are BEAUTIFUL I cannot wait for our kitchen I think it will be my favorite place in the house.
Our 1 year anniversary is Sunday. I cannot believe it has been a year and I certainly cannot believe all we have been thru in the past year. We have wasted no time. We got pregnant, had a baby, bought a house and renovated it. We definitely waste no time getting down to business. But it has been worth it. We are so blessed to have beautiful children and a beautiful home to move in to. I am more in love with Nic than ever and all of these challenges have just made me love him more and have shown me what an incredible man I have married. I look forward to seeing what the next year brings. Hopefully we can put things on cruise control a bit.
I am so in love with my husband and my children. I could not ask for more right now. I hope everyone is doing well. I will post a slide show shorty!

40 Weeks no baby and a c section planned at 41 weeks

Well I wish I could say I had my baby girl in my arms but unfortunately her and my body aren't quite cooperating yet. For those of you that do not know I had a c section with Dominik and so I was attempting a vaginal birth after a c section. However there are certain criteria that I have to follow in order to do so and so far those things are falling into place.
I'm only dilated to less than a one and my cervix isn't thinning at all my Dr. believes at this point because I am due that the odds of me having her naturally are less than 50%. So we scheduled a c section for next Thursday in hopes that perhaps against his opinion that I can still go into labor on my own.
He will only let me go to 41 weeks with a VBAC so unfortunately next Thursday is the very latest I can go. I am so disappointed but I know that I can only control so many things and the ultimate goal is to get her here safely. I have a non stress test set up for Monday to make sure she is still thriving. My Dr. checked my amniotic fluid levels and those looked really good. I'm measuring right on schedule and I got to see her chubby little cheeks in the ultrasound. She is super cute. So far I still feel really good I'm not swelling up and I haven't gained any weight for the last month. I've been very lucky to have such an incredible and trouble free pregnancy for the most part. I'm praying that I will go into labor by myself in the next week but I'm also prepared to do the c section knowing that I did everything in my power and that was the only alternative. I've been walking and all sorts of things to help labor progress but nothing seems to work. I guess she is just enjoying herself way too much in there. My Dr. had planned to strip my membranes but my cervix is so hard he can't even do that. haha. Anyway it's been an emotional couple of days but I feel good about the decision I've made and I just need to accept that this is one of those things that I can't control. The good news is a week from today I will be holding my newborn baby girl in my arms and I cannot wait.
The house is coming a long I'm happy to report that we have finally sheet rocked and we are in the process of putting up all the doors and trim. We are hoping to be in some time in July. I am so proud of Nic and all his hard work he really has sacrificed so much to make this house so nice. We keep trying to keep our eye on the prize and a year from now we will look back at all this and laugh! Again we could not do it without the hard work of his family. They have truly been so incredible during this process and it just proves that no matter what you can always count on family!
I did some pictures of Dominik for his 4 year pics and then some maternity photo's. I wanted to make them family photo's but Nic is so busy I did not want to pull him away from the house so we decided to do some once the baby gets her as a "complete" family. Dom is doing great he is definitely all boy and he has tons of energy. I'm going to spend this last week with him and enjoy our last special time before Lily gets here. I still can't believe he is 4 years old and I'm so proud of the little man he is becoming. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with his these past few months because I can never get these times back. They grow up so fast and I don't want to take any of these moments for granted. As much as I want Lily here I know I will miss having her with me 24 hours a day. I am so lucky to be a woman and to be blessed with the incredible gift to have children and I try and remind myself of that when I complain about being pregnant or her not being here yet. It's funny how you think your life is SO hard but when you look at the BIG picture you realize how incredibly blessed your life really is and that others around you have it far worse than you. I am so thankful for my life and my family and kids and although things seem tough or stressful I wouldn't trade any of it. Okay I'll get off my cheesy soap box! I hope this finds everyone Happy and Healthy and stay tuned for details of Princess Lily's arrival!

Lily's Crib

Even though I can't put her room together yet we do have Lily's crib and bedding picked out. I thought I would post some pics so everyone could see what her nursery will look like when we move into the house :)

For now she'll be camping out with mom and dad in their room! :) I found the crib on KSL and the bedding at Babies R US! I can't wait to decorate her little nursery. It's so fun shopping for girl stuff. (but very expenisve) haha!

Listen to The Arnold Mix

4 weeks until the arrival of Little Lily

So I just posted a post I had written 2 weeks ago but never put on here. So I figured I would do a quick update. I am now 36 weeks and anxiously awaiting the arrival of our sweet little girl. I went to the Dr. yesterday and so far nothing is happening which is okay since we do have 4 more weeks. I still feel pretty good. But my back is starting to hurt a bit more. I am also quite the clutz. I fell over at the Dr.'s office when i was trying to get undressed. Luckily I wasn't hurt, the only thing that hurt was my pride! I could not stop laughing at myself and my Dr. thought it was pretty funny too.
Dominik and I took some pictures on Monday. I wanted to get his 4 year old pictures taken and then I had some maternity photo's taken as well. I'm hoping to get Nic in for some family photo's but he is so busy with the house I hate to even ask him to take a night off! :( We still haven't sheet rocked but we are getting very close. The house is looking fantastic and it's incredible how much work they have done in a short time. I went with Nic's sister and we picked out our paint carpet and tile so that will all be ready to go once things are complete.
I have started to nest which is hard in the rental because I have packed a lot of things up to move. But I've started getting all her baby clothes cleaned and things more organized. I haven't even had my baby showers yet and people have given us enough clothes to last her thru her first year :) I have 2 showers this weekend which I think will make things seem more real. This pregnancy seems to be flying by for me. (almost too fast) I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I've been reading baby books since it's been 4 years since Dom was born I feel like a rookie. But i'm pretty sure it will all come back to me. Nic is very excited too. He talks to her and plays with my belly every night. It's soo cute. I'm so excited for him to become a father there is nothing more incredible than watching your child be born. He is already such a great father to Dom and I know he will be just as incredible with our Lily.
Dom is still as excited as ever. He even uses Lily to try and get things. We were at the store yesterday and he told me that "Lily said to buy him a toy" He says the funniest things. She isn't even born and he is already using her as his scape goat!
I feel so blessed to have such an incredible family. I couldn't be any more in love with my husband and son and our daughter will just be another blessing to add to our home. With all the craziness in the world its nice to have the comfort of your home to turn to. Nic and I are facing some of our biggest challenges and yet we are closer than ever. I am one lucky lady! Anyway enough with the cheesiness not sure if it's the hormones or just me. I do cry a lot lately but they are all happy tears. So there is the quick update on Life at the Arnold's!!!! I will get those pics up when I get them from the photographer!