Rochelle and Josh's Wedding!!

Last Saturday, February 18, Bryce's cousin, Rochelle married Josh Murphy in the Oakland, California Temple. Lacey and I stayed home, but Bryce was able to attend and snap lots of fabulous pictures of the family outside of the temple.

Uncle Chad and Aunt Cheryl with (from left to right) Natalie, Ryan, and Brittany.

The beautiful bride and groom - I love her vintage-styled gown. Just gorgeous!

Mom and Uncle Kelly...

We love Daddy!!!

Lacey is definitely a daddy's girl. Whenever Daddy walks into the room, she will generally stop crying and give him a great big smile. I love the picture below that we took at Lacey's 6-week check up. Speaking of which - Lacey has grown from 21 to 23 1/2 inches and from 9 lbs. 1 oz. to 11 lbs. even. The best news is that she is a healthy, happy baby and we couldn't feel more blessed.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

We had a wonderful Valentines Day this year! Bryce brought home a beautiful spring bouquet for me and my favorite peanut butter M&M's. And I experimented in the kitchen and made a heart-shaped valentines day cake which ended up being Bryce's breakfast the following morning:) Why not?

Lacey wore her Valentine's Day outfit given to her by Grandmama Mary. We thought she looked pretty cute, however, the bow made her look a little bit like Aunt Jemima, no?

Lacey Lou!!!

Every parent must feel that their child is the cutest, most adorable baby to enter the world. That's certainly how Bryce and I feel about Lacey. We love watching her and all of the faces that she makes. Bryce caught some of our favorite faces in the shots below...

My favorite picture!!! Quite the spunky kid:)

A Walk in the Park

Sometimes on Sundays, we like to take family walks. A few Sundays ago we took a walk in Clayton and found a tree with a rope swing. Bryce and I took turns swinging and both felt like little kids again.

Grandma and Grandpa Stevenson Come to Visit!

We were so fortunate to have Grandma Stevenson come to stay with us during the second week that we were home from the hospital. Grandma made delicious dinners, cookies, and together we learned how much little Lacey loves the hair dryer!!

We were joined by Grandpa Stevenson on Saturday, January 21. Lacey sure did love sleeping on Grandpa's shoulder.

Sometimes, Lacey will sleep on my shoulder too...she's pretty darn cute!

Papa and Gigi Come to Visit

I wish I was as good at blogging as my sister-in-law Heather. But alas - I am not and so I write about our last seven weeks in one evening. After Lacey was born, Papa and Gigi drove to Concord from Sacramento to visit her. Lacey loved being held by Papa for two hours while Mommy got some much needed sleep!

Gigi graciously stayed with us for 10 days while Bryce and I adjusted to life as new parents. She cooked wonderful meals for us, did laundry, and even organized my closet! It was wonderful!!!

After Gigi's stay, we met up with Papa at what used to be the Nut Tree for a little walk and Jamba Juices. It was nice to see that bits and pieces of the old Nut Tree still remain in the parking lot of the current Nut Tree strip mall.

Thank you so much, Papa and Gigi for all of your help! We love you.

Our New Baby Girl - Lacey Noelle Stevenson

We have a new baby!! Our little Lacey Noelle was due to be born on December 29th, but was so cozy inside her mommy's tummy that she needed a bit of encouragement to make her debut. My doctor scheduled an induction for Wednesday, January 4th at 7:00am. Bryce and I kicked off the morning with bagels and Jamba Juice before heading to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek.

At around 8:00AM, I was given Pitocin to jump start my labor. I let my nurse know that I wanted an epidural and she was able to snag the anesthesiologist for me before he went into the OR for back-to-back C-sections. Boy - do I LOVE epidurals!!! After receiving the epidural, I was able to completely relax and didn't feel a single contraction for the remainder of my labor. Bryce and I spent the afternoon playing card games, watching shows on Netflix and resting. At about 6:30pm, we received a call from my doctor with some surprising and disappointing news. She informed us that because I was not dilating as quickly as anticipated, I might need to have a C-section. The suggestion of having a C-section came as a complete shock, but Bryce and I both wanted to do what was best for me and for the baby. Bryce sent a text message to our family asking them to pray that a C-section might be avoided. Miraculously, I began to dilate from 4cm to 7cm and by 11:00pm, I had reached 10cm. Because of my amazing epidural, I was sleeping just 10 minutes before the nurses woke me up and told me to start pushing. Pushing began at 11:25 and at 11:50, I was holding Lacey on my chest. What an incredible feeling!

Lacey weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce and was 21 inches long - a healthy girl!

We know that Lacey is going to be a tall girl because her footprint barely fit inside the footprint box.

Daddy holding his little girl for the first time...

Little Lace had a mild case of jaundice and was put on a Billi Bed during our hospital stay. How cute is she in her little sunglasses?!

Our little princess on her way home from the hospital...

We arrived home at 5:30pm on Friday to a clean home and a scrumptious dinner prepared by my mom. Mom stayed with us for a full 10 days and we LOVED having her!! On Saturday, my brother James, his wife Heather and their two boys - Talmage and Everett came to see baby Lacey. Because of her jaundice, Lacey came home with a Billi Blanket that wrapped around her abdomen and attached to a tube and power source. It was a bit of a nuisance, but we were grateful to be able to take her home after two days instead of having to leave her in the hospital under lights.

Cousins!!! Everett, Lacey and Talmage.

Lacey on her way to her first checkup...

We sure do love our little angel!!

It's A Girl!!!!

We are thrilled to announce that in December we will welcome a little girl into our family! Bryce and I had our 20 week ultrasound appointment this morning. We were both in awe at the technology available to view all of the tiny parts of a baby measuring only 10 inches and weighing less than a pound (13.5 oz to be exact). Using ultrasound technology, the doctors were able to see and measure our baby's heart, brain, arms, legs, nose, mouth, and more. It was amazing to see this perfect little miracle growing inside of me.

This picture is my favorite and the most clear. The baby was a little shy during our appointment. She kept her head tucked into her chest making it difficult to get a good picture of her face. When the doctor jiggled her around to try to make her move, she put her arms up over her head. You can see in this picture that she has one arm resting across her chest and the other over her head. So relaxed!

And the classic profile shot. Again, she was covering up her little face trying to hide from the cameras - so modest. We love her already and can't wait to meet her in December!

Of Jelly Bellies and Chocolate Souffles...

Mom and Dad Stevenson joined us in California for the weekend!! We loved having them with us and were sad to say goodbye to them today. On Friday evening, we all met up in the city and Mom and Dad treated us to dinner at Roy's - dinner was amazing and we all went home stuffed. Dad, Bryce and I had a chocolate souffle for dessert, and I think that is now one of my favorites!! Chocolate-y GOODNESS!

We put in an order for sunshine this weekend, but when it wasn't happening, we needed to find something to do inside. So, we took a little trip to Vacaville to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. We learned about the Jelly Belly making process and even got to try a few samples. Did you know that Jelly Belly has created some yucky flavors like vomit, baby wipes, pencil shavings, and boogers? Gross!!!

We learned some interesting pieces of trivia too, like the three most popular flavors of Jelly Bellies. Wanna take a guess? If you guessed Buttered Popcorn, Cherry, and Licorice, you're right (those were not my guesses)!!!

And they even gave us these cute little hats to wear on the tour.

One of my favorite parts was seeing all of the pictures that had been created using Jelly Bellies like this one of John Wayne. Pretty amazing!! We loved our weekend with Mom and Dad and hope that they can come back again soon - we'll make sure we have sunshine for you next time!!

Here Comes the Bride!!

I got to go to my friend, former roommate, and BYU swim teammate's wedding this last weekend in Portland. The entire day was fabulous, from Amy and Mau's sealing in the Portland Temple to the reception at the Tiffany Center. Rain was predicted for the entire weekend, but Saturday morning arrived without a cloud in the sky!!

Loved the ivory suit on Mau...

The Nomani family + James Christy.

Love the girls in the Westlake Ward - Lindsay, Amy, Julie, and Beth.

This is my favorite shot of Amy coming out of the temple and seeing all of her friends and family waiting for her. We love you both!!