Oh, what a beautiful morning!

I love looking out my window in the early morning and seeing this:

It is a beautiful life.

Little Annie

Our baby girl is here! In fact, she is already a week old today. I have so much I want to say about her and her labor and delivery, but I'll need enough quiet time to do it right--and quiet time is not in abundance these days.

But for now I'll leave you with a few pictures:

Ann Shirley Vieira 

August 14, 2014

6lb 14oz

20 1/2 inches long

Love this baby girl.

Hike--ish

I'll admit it. I'm antsy to meet this baby girl. For the past week I have woken up every morning thinking, "maybe today!" I have several contractions every day now, but they never become regular and fizzle out through the night.

To try and keep some contractions moving along (and to wear out the monkeys), we decided to try a hike the other day. Now, keep in mind that our pace is pretty much set by the 2 year old legs of Ezra, so we're not looking at anything too strenuous:) 

It was a beautiful day, and Marty and Dorothy had found a beautiful new trail for us. Everything seemed pretty magical at first. The trail was wide and inviting. There was a pony on the other side of a farm fence the kids were visiting with as we entered the path. We had our pack filled with water and snacks, and we were ready to go! 

But pretty soon that path narrowed down to nothingness and out came the bugs. Oh, the Bugs!! They were horrible! I was getting bites left and right and had them flying into me constantly. I was waving my arms around like a crazy woman to try and keep some of them away. About a half mile in we had to stop to consult our trusty map, and that's when the bugs really attacked. Our brief pause was way too inviting. We quickly made the decision to turn it around and practically run back to the van. 

We were all smiles again after our escape. We decided on a plan B: the playground. I sat in the shade eating our hiking snacks, watching the kids play. So the day didn't do much for my contractions, but we still enjoyed it!