loved.

This week your sweet great-grandpa Webster passed away. Ever since I started dating your dad, I've adopted Bill as my grandpa too. Both of my grandpas had passed away before I was born and so I quickly adopted your dad's grandparents as my own. I love both the Andersens and Websters so much and they have always loved me right back. Grandpa Webster adored you. Both him and Grandma came to the hospital the day after you were born. Dad took this great picture of you two together. I don't think I've ever seen Grandpa so excited. He has the best look on his face in this picture. Him and Grandma came to see you several times and would often come over during our Sunday dinners at Grandpa and Grammy Bingham's house. He always wanted to hold you and would huddle over Grandma too while she held you just so he could look at you even more. He always had a huge smile on his face and would say over and over that you were such a DOLL. Even though you won't remember being held and adored by your great-grandpa Webster, I wanted to let you know how much he loved you. He was a great man and we will all miss him dearly. I'm sad that you won't get to know him in this life but please know, he love love loved you, daphne.

blessed

yesterday {02.15.09} you were blessed by your dad.
i loved hearing what our Father in Heaven has in store for you. Some things that stood out to me during your blessing was that your body, and all parts of your body, would function properly throughout your life. You were also blessed to make good friends and be a good influence on others and that you would find the positive in every situation in your life. During the blessing, you were absolutely perfect. You were alert but quiet and happy. You just looked up at your dad. how adorable :)

You wore the cutest little cream colored sweater dress and black herringbone maryjanes. i really can't believe you are mine, you are too cute.

Your Nana and Papa drove 11 hours each way within 3 days to come and see you be blessed. I was so happy they could be there, along with your Grammy and Grandpa of course, also. you already have so many admirers for being only 6 weeks old. about 20 people came to your blessing just to see you.

We had a great lunch together after and you were passed from arm to arm all day. as a result, you didn't really sleep at all last night but that's ok.. it was still a great weekend.

i love you daphne ryn.

update

I really need to update this blog or it will not be a very complete history...
the last 13 days since you joined us have been incredible. I really feel like we are in the routine and parenting is coming naturally to us. I can't believe what a good baby you are. Your one problem is nursing. When you were 3 days old you went to the doctor for a check up on your jaundice and you had lost a pound a half. i felt SO guilty and horrible that me feeding hadn't been enough and we didn't even know it! So we had to start feeding you with a bottle and since then, you won't nurse. It is sad but at least now you are growing which I am so happy about. You sleep all the time. ALL THE TIME. at least 20 hours a day, sometimes more. You rarely cry. You are a nightowl. You are adorable. Everyone that meets you falls instantly in love. Seriously. For example, a bride we are working with emailed us to say she was going to send you a present! You have this effect on people- i don't know how we produced something this adorable. right now, you are sitting in your swing in between your dad and me as we work/blog. you are all scrunched up and look so cute. It has been so much fun so far to be your parents- we can't wait for all the fun the three of us will have together. you're the best. <3

we can't wait to meet you.

4 weeks left till the due date and I am getting anxious. Monday night (dec 1st) I had my first real contractions. 4 of them in fact. it was crazy... i felt AWFUL but at the same time, more excited than ever. Maybe this was it! But, it wasn't. And, its probably a good thing- I know the closer we get to the due date, the better it will be for Daphne. Plus, Nic and I have got just 7 school days left before the end of the fall semester, which we would both love to finish! Its been difficult going to school the last few weeks- but I am so glad I have something to do instead of staying home fretting about going into labor. I feel like my emotions are being pulled into a 1000 different directions lately. I am nervous. VERY NERVOUS- about the birth itself. I try not to think about complications with Daphne and I but its hard to avoid. I try to tell myself that almost 50% of the population has gone through this (or will, most likely) and I can too. But, that doesn't really easy the anxiety much. I am happy and blessed to have a mom, mother in law and a "wise older sister" (she called herself that yesterday) to help ease my concerns. between the three of them they have given birth 16 times to 17 babies so it does help to get their advice. Still, I can't help but feel that everyone's experiences are different and we really have no idea what we are getting into. Its hard for me to imagine having a baby in our home. I walk past her room at least 10 times everyday, looking into the crib and trying to imagine what it will be like when a baby occupies it. OUR baby. It almost seems unreal. I am awful about journal keeping, even as missionary I only wrote letters to Nic and counted that as my journal, but i want to keep a better record for our kids. I give my mom a hard time about my lack of baby book (i am the last of 6 kids) but i think it has motivated me to a better record keeper for ALL of my kids, not just the first couple. In that spirit, I have been thinking about the last few weeks at the Pedersen household before I was born. Were they excited? Were they placing bets about when Mom would deliver? Was there anxiety or nervousness or was my mom a pro at that point? Well, I want Daphne to know exactly how I am feeling right before she enters our family...

Daphne. I really can't wait to meet you. I have been feeling you move inside of me for the past 5 months and I feel like I know you. I do know you, you are our first daughter. our first child. everytime i feel you kick or move, i say in my head "i love you too" it is crazy to think how much I can love you without ever seeing or touching you. I just know you are going to be awesome. I love arranging your clothes and thinking about you in them. In my mind, you have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, a lot like me I guess. But, you are a lot like your dad too- slender build, a great smile and like both of us, you're short :) We'll see how true my visions of you are once you grow up a bit. It's hard for me to imagine all that will change when you finally arrive. Its hard to imagine what things will stay the same. I've never experienced anything like this before... it is nerve racking, but the most exciting thing that has happened in our lives at the same time. I want you to know, and never forget, that we wanted a baby. We wanted our lives to be changed and altered by you. Before we got married, we thought we didn't want to have kids for 5 years. I even made a bet with your Aunt Danielle and paid her $50 when I got pregnant :) But, something inside of me changed. I didn't have the same selfish desires. I wanted a baby to share in our happy family. I wanted you. So, 9 months after we got married we decided to have a baby and quickly after our decision, I was pregnant. I meant to write down my feelings on the day I found out I was pregnant with you- but i didn't. But, it felt pretty much the same as the feelings I am having now, as we come closer to your arrival- apprehensive, excited, nervous and overjoyed. We feel so blessed to have gotten pregnant fast and to have had a healthy pregnancy. It hasn't always been easy being pregnant, but at the same time it feels so good knowing I am doing something beyond myself- we are partnering with Heavenly Father to create a body for your Spirit to dwell in. Now, we are just anxiously awaiting your birth. To see you, hold you and smell your good newborn smell. I am so thrilled to have you in our family. Love, Mom.

(wow... that feels weird to write :)