Auntie Katelyn!

I'm about to brag on my new niece, so if that's going to bore you, stop reading now!

Introducing Aeralyn Marie Prosch

Born Friday, January 13th 2012

6lbs 4oz, 19in long

Alexa, Brendon & Aeralyn

I just had the privilege of spending about 3 1/2 days in Boise, Idaho with my sister Alexa, her husband Brendon, and their brand-new baby, Aeralyn! (Mom was there too;) On the morning of Friday the 13th I found out that Lexi was in labor, over 2 weeks early, and heading to the hospital! I kept my phone glued to my hip as updates came all day from Brendon's mom, Sharon. It was so fun to get to hear how things were going throughout the day :) But by mid-afternoon I started getting emotional and upset about not being there with my little sister. So, to shorten the story, thanks to my boss for giving me the time off, I got online and booked a flight leaving the next morning! I told my mom and Sharon, but Lexi and Bren had no idea that I was coming, so I surprised them at the hospital and it was great...

Surprise!

I'm so thankful that God provided the money, the affordable flight, and the time off of work to let me go!

Aeralyn is my first niece and she is soooo cute!!!! And I'm not saying this because she's family or because I'm being polite. I have never called a baby cute that I did not honestly think was cute. I would never tell someone that their baby is not cute, but I aint gonna say they're cute if they're not! As Lexi herself said, something like this, "If my baby comes out ugly, I'm not gonna lie and say she's cute just cuz she's my baby!" So there you have it. But as you can see, she is ADORABLE!

She seems to be a pretty quiet baby so far, at all of 4 days old. She only cries when she's being changed or when she's having a hard time trying to nurse, and her cry is quite mellow and quiet compared to a lot of baby cries I have heard. Overall, I'd say she's a keeper!

This is probably a bit cliche, but I think it's worth saying anyways, and to let ya know that it's true... I have never felt anything quite like I did meeting/holding this little girlie, my sister's own baby. I remember thinking I fell in love when I held my best friend's first baby, and I did, but this was that time like a thousand. I can't even tell you, I think it's something that you have to experience for yourself, but let me just say that I did :) It was so surreal, to be there totally unplanned (which is TOTALLY unlike me haha) and to be holding MY SISTER'S newborn, tiny little baby. I never wanted to give her back! Now it makes me curious, and I can't even imagine, what it's like when it's your own baby. Maybe someday I'll get to find out, but until then, I'll be spoiling my new niece, as well as whatever other babies come along from my brother and sisters in the next few years... bring on the babies! :)

Bathroom Adventure #3

I have one more little bathroom adventure that I want to share from my memorable trip to King's Canyon last summer... perhaps not as funny as the previous two, but the story would not be complete without it.  I hope these have not been too dull ;)

Chris, Edith, Justin, Troy, Karise, Anna & me on the roots of a Sequoia

It was a few days after my last adventure, and I was finally relaxed about the whole flashlight incident and pretty confident that if the septic system hadn't exploded by now, I was probably safe. So I had gone back to using the bathroom nearby our campsite. After another night of fun around the campfire, the girls and I gathered our toiletries and headed to the bathroom for our nightly routine. Everything seemed normal as we were brushing teeth, washing faces, chatting, etc. But, unknown to us, there was an unwelcome visitor in our midst... Tabitha and I were each in the stalls on opposite sides of the small building, while Annelise and Edith were brushing there teeth at the sink which is situated in between, when all of a sudden there were screams of terror!! It was Edith, but we couldn't make out what she was trying to say! Within the span of no more than a minute, the following scenario played out similtaneously, each of us having no idea what was happening with the others until the retelling of the story later... Edith is yelling unintelligibly (I think it was in Spanish lol), Anna is screaming, Tab and I have no idea what's going on out there. Suddenly Tab, still in her stall, screams and tries to run out while pulling up her pants, catching toilet paper in the back of her pants which trails behind as she runs out the door. She ducks as she runs, because something is flying low overhead. I, in the other stall, start screaming just because everyone else is, though I cant' see anything yet! I yank my pants up and try to run out of the stall when something black whooshes by, barely missing my face as I duck and run outside, Annelise with me! All the while, Edith is dancing around the middle of the room pointing up and screaming, "It's a...! It's a...!" And as we all shove each other out the door, she takes a deep breath and finally yells... "Baaaattt!!!!!"

And that's the end of the "Bathroom Adventures" trilogy. Many more fun times were had in those 2 weeks in the mountains, but these few stories stand out as most memorable and unique ;) I am certainly looking forward to next year!

Me & Tab in front of the largest tree in the world

King's Canyon

Edith, Chris, me, Annelise inside the Chimney Tree