Little Leila Anne

Well, I finally have a quiet moment to post a picture or two :)
Little Leila Anne joined our family Friday morning, the first day of spring, at 7:57am. Weighing in at 6 pounds 7.7 oz and 19 inches long. She is beautiful, perfect and we are all in love once again!

The C section went wonderful and my recovery has been pretty quick and quite painless. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and talented doctor and a loving and supportive family! "Grandma Mills" has been here to help ease my burdens and pick up my duties while I rest and recover. It's been a big blessing and help and the boys love and adore her.

I got to have 10 minutes of "skin time" with Leila during my surgery after they pulled her out and before they took her away to the nursery. It was a first, kinda tricky but wonderful. Filled my eyes with tears.

Big brothers are soooo happy to finally get to hold little sister!

Little fire men

Billy has been practicing getting into all of his gear under a certain time and having me time him. Major requirement for passing the academy! The boys have really enjoyed watching and also trying on his turnouts and boots as well :)

Count down chain

The boys have been asking almost daily when baby sister is going to come out! So, we made a count down chain for them to see how many days left until we meet little Leila.

And some other fun pictures of the boys goofing off the other Sunday after church :)

First day of Academy at MTO!

Today is the first day of a 7 week academy for Billy at Montecito Fire Department! He was up before 5am and out the door by 5:30 with a HUGE pile of gear. I think at 9months pregnant, I could have easily fit inside his red gear bag and that was only one of many bags & cases that were lined up at the door last night. His boots were shined to the 9, his uniforms were picked over with a magnifying glass to get rid of any loose threads and he adjusted all his turnouts and harnesses to fit perfectly. He is ready to give it his all and give it his best to prove to the Montecito family that they made a good choice in hiring him! I am so proud of Billy! He is driven, dedicated, intelligent and all around amazingly talented. He is going to show them how he shines and how much he is ready for this job! It's going to be a crazy and tough 7 weeks ahead with Billy's #1 priority being succeeding in academy and a baby coming right in the middle of it all. Not to mention the recovery time for me after surgery where I won't be able to give him all the support he needs. But between Grandma coming to help and all the love and support we have been offered from neighbors and church, we will make it through like we always do :) I think the last 8 years in the forest service and the crazy schedule and demands that brought our family, has really prepared us to get through this time ahead. Ready or not, here we go! Looking forward to graduation on April 17th!