Catch Up Time!

Hello all! So much has happened since Christmas! My sister returned from deployment, Lance graduated, we moved to Oregon, and Quinn is melting out hearts more and more each day.

Back in April Lance, Quinn and I flew to Seattle to be with my family for Easter and Casey's homecoming from her 9 month deployment in Kuwait. It is always special when my entire family gets together but this was extra special because it was the first time Quinn got to meet her Auntie Casey and Great Grandma and Grandpa! Here are some pictures from that trip, in no particular order...

 Happy 1st Easter Quinn!

 Hanging out with Grand-Poopa and cousin Charlie

 Starting to sit up!

 Quinn likes Grandma's chair. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?!

 :-)

 Silly Willy

 Love my naked baby!

 Quinn couldn't believe she got her very own Easter basket!

 Quinn loves her Dad

 Too much love

 Gotta have a family portrait

 Quinn loves her Grand-Poopa!

 Auntie Maja!

 Always a treasure seeing these two beauties!

 Beautiful day at the beach!

 It was nice to experience an actual spring for a week. I think there was still snow in Minnesota!

 Those ears!!

 Love this kid!

 We met up with Aunt LeAnn at the Point Defiance Zoo! What a beautiful day!

 Quinn wearing Grandpa's hat!

 The first time Quinn met my Grandma she had her first belly laugh! So sweet!

 Quinn was happy to meet her Great Grandma Holm

 My Grandpa singing to Quinn. Love.

 4 Generations!

The WHOLE HERD!! Love them to pieces!

Time with family

Happy New Year! We hope that all of our friends and family had as great a Christmas as we had! Lance, Quinn, and I left for Pullman for an entire month! This is the last Christmas break we will get since Lance's time in school is coming to an end so we took full advantage of his time off. Quinn was great during all 4 flights to and from Washington. I remember being so stressed about flying with a baby because of germs, blowouts, feedings, and sleep deprivation. Thankfully, it all worked out fine!

We started off our vacation with Lance's side of the family. It was a great reunion. Both sets of grandparents, both siblings, all four nieces and nephews, and his dad's sister and her husband came for the holidays! We went to cougar basketball games, went to see the Christmas light display in Lewiston, played with kids, and blessed baby Quinn. My childhood friend, Anna, my brother-in-law, Jake, and my parents came for Quinn's blessing. It was so special to have all of our family there. Unfortunately my sisters, Casey and Maja, were out of the country at the time, but they were there in spirit!

After New Years my other childhood friend, Christine and her sister, Julianne, flew to Pullman to meet Quinn, also very special! We had a great time with them. We had a bonfire up at the barn and played games and watched movies. It is so cozy and fun up at the barn! I would live there in a heartbeat!

We had a lot of fun with my family as well. My mom and dad found it difficult to stay on task and get some work done with Quinn around. She sucks you in with her big eyes and smile! Juno, my parents' lab, also found it difficult to resist Quinn's charm. She wanted to give her kisses any chance she got. We would let her kiss her feet only! Once Maja returned from her mission trip she was able to spend some quality time with her niece. It was so sweet when she first saw Quinn. It became more real to her that she was an aunt. I'm looking forward to when Casey gets to meet Quinn!

We had a great time with family. It always goes by so quickly. We made a lot of memories, had some awesome food, put on a few pounds, or in Lance's case, one pound, and even had time for a date! Thankfully it won't be too long before we see our loved ones again!

Here are a bunch of pictures taken while we were home.

 Shopping in Spokane with my Mom & Lance

 Can you tell Maja is happy to be an aunt?

 Juno was kind enough to share her chair with Quinn

 Happy to be at Church for her blessing!

 My dad is smitten!

 Happy to be hanging out with us while we shopped!

 Fun at the office!

 Best Friends for life! Love you Anna!

 The boys

 Grandma and Quinn

 Quinn loves playing with Grandma in the morning!

 Quinn's baby blessing

 Beautiful sunset at the barn

 Smiles for uncle Brett!

My adorable nieces, McCall and Addy

 Just spending some quality time with Aunt LeAnn

 We had a lovely lunch at Banyans, where we had our wedding reception. It was a beautiful day!

 Land, my Dad, and my brother-in-law, Jake, at the Seahawks game! Superbowl bound!

 Julianne Hay enjoying cuddles with Quinn

 Best Friends for ever! Love you Christine!

 Quinn loved to cuddle with Great Grandma and Grandpa Larsen.

 I love taking naps with this little girl!

 Three generations!

 I'm not happy to be home at all...

 Cuddles with Uncle Jake

 Quinn even got to enjoy the bonfire for a little bit!

Merry Christmas Quinn!

Quinn ReNae Udy

As many of you know our little bundle of joy arrived November 1st at 11:06pm (2 days early). She weighed 6 pounds 11oz. We still pinch ourselves to make sure this all hasn't been a wonderful dream. Lance and I spend a lot of our time just staring at her and taking in her beauty and innocence. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Now for the details!

My mom flew out Oct. 28th to keep me company while Lance flew out to Portland for fellowship interviews. I was so relieved to have her here with me just in case Quinn came before Lance made it back. Luckily, Quinn waited until Friday to come. Friday morning my mom, Lance, and I went for a nice long walk around Lake Como to get labor going. After our walk we had lunch at a little Cafe in St. Anthony Park. We continued our walk at the Como Conservatory. Around 3pm I noticed my contractions were coming every 5 minutes and getting stronger so we left the conservatory for home so I could rest for what was coming. We watched Ratatouille and When Harry Met Sally. By 8 o'clock I was ready to leave for the hospital so off we went!

Once at the hospital we were put into triage so that I could be checked. I was 4cm dilated and 90% effaced. They decided to leave me in triage for an hour to see if I would progress. Well I SURE DID! During the hour my contractions got stronger and stronger. To ease my anxiety, Lance gave me a priesthood blessing and turned on Church hymns, which really helped. The midwife came in to check me in the middle of a contraction and said, "If this isn't labor I don't know what is, let's get her into a room". This was music to my ears! The short walk from triage to my room was interrupted by 2 really painful contractions. I thought to myself, "how much worse can this get?!" Once I got into the bath tub, the hot water took the edge off the contractions and I was able to manage them a lot better. I think I was in the tub for about an hour and a half. Lance was with me the entire time! He massaged my back, poured water over my stomach, gave me sips of water, spoke words of encouragement, and held my hand. My mom and doula, Mary, were there as well. The dimly lit room and music were very relaxing. With each contraction everyone helped me work through it and praised me. It was exactly the kind of environment I needed to have a natural birth experience.

Once I was in transitional labor I started to doubt my myself and my ability to cope with the pain. Luckily I had my dream team with me to get me through it. I remember asking to have the midwife check me because I started to feel the urge to push. Well sure enough I was completely dilated and ready to meet my baby! As soon as I stood up from the bath my body began pushing Quinn out. We hurriedly moved to the bed. I remember hearing myself roaring just as a reaction to what was going on. My midwife told me to try not to since my throat would be sore later. So I took deep breaths instead. The difference between transition contractions and pushing contractions is amazing! I literally didn't have pain between each push. There was a definite beginning and end to each contraction, whereas the transition contractions never really ended. It took me three pushes to get Quinn out. Lance got to catch her and place her on my chest! I couldn't believe she was finally here! All I could say was "my baby, my baby" and "I'm done!"

The nurses at Regions were angels. They took such great care of Quinn and I. All in all, it was an amazing experience. One that we will never forget!

A few days later we had our family pictures taken. Here are some of our favorites!