And then there were 4...

Welcome to the world little one!  Born February 1st: Darby!

It's been an very LOOOOOONG 9 months.  They say the more pregnancies you have, the faster they seem to go.  I would agree to that statement with London and Beckett's pregnancies - this one, not so much.  I was very ready to have her out and into the world!

Everything about this pregnancy was a bit different, really.  The symptoms were more severe (Aaron liked to constantly remind me that I am no longer in my 20's.)  The nights were much more sleepless.  And the labor was much more speedy!

We had a scheduled inducement for Thursday morning - things were going normal until they decided to break my water to speed up the process.  Boy did it ever!  30 minutes after breaking the water - I had a new baby.  No time for an epidural - not much time for anything really.  It was quite the whirlwind.  I guess if you have to go "natural" that's the way to do it!

She came in at 7lb 8oz and 20 inches tall.  Look at that head of hair!

My mom was so kind to come and watch the kids for me so Aaron could be at the hospital with me.  

Beckett finally understood what all the "baby talk" had been about.  There was a lot of pointing to my belly and saying "baby."  Beckett would try to lift up my shirt to see what I was talking about.  It was pretty cute.  When she finally saw a real life baby, she was one very excited girl.  Beckett LOVES babies.

London is a very sweet big sister.  She takes very good care of both of her little sisters.

So happy.  A real life doll to play with.  I have to keep my eyes on her and make sure she doesn't smother Darby!  She's a little obsessed with her!

Royce has decided that another little girl isn't too bad.  He was really rooting for a brother but once he met Darby, he decided that he would take charge of her as a big brother.  He already has big plans to beat up anyone who bothers her.  I think she'll be well protected!

The Larsen clan is now a clan of 6!  I can't believe it!  They bring so much joy and chaos.  I love it.

Nauvoo!

 Bear with me on this one.  There are a lot of pictures in no particular order.  But I wanted to post them all because it just shows how much fun these kids had!

In July we met up with Scott & Co., Adam & Co., and Mom and Dad to go camping and see Nauvoo which has a lot of meaning to Latter-day Saints.  It was founded by Mormons in the 1800's and truly is a beautiful city.  Just seeing how great it is emphasizes the sadness the Saints must have felt to leave it all behind.  

Of course the kids didn't quite get that part of the whole trip but they did get to have fun.  A lot of it.

The first day we get there it is raining while we set up camp.  They don't seem to care too much.  So happy to be together and play.  There was a playground right next to the campground, I think that alone made the trip for them.

 

Royce's cousin, Millie.  He loves her so much.  He told me he wants to marry him.  We'll have to explain that to him as he gets a little older.

 

Wilson.

 

Carthage Jail where Joseph Smith was murdered.

 

There is a pageant every night about the Saints coming to Nauvoo and the challenges they faced.  Before the pageant they have pioneer games and activities like the stick pull.

 

Waiting for the pageant to start.

Nice.

Carriage tour around the streets of Nauvoo.

Cuties.

A "blacksmith" showing us how they made horseshoes, etc.

Oy.

 

The gang.

Yea, she broke those glasses.

A band member marching the streets stopped and talked to London.

These pictures are from "Pioneer Pastimes" which is just a big play area for kids to pretend and play with toys children would have played with back then.

Racing Scott.  Pretty sure he won.

She ate the dress up thing right up.

Adam vs. Rebekah.

Nice outfit Abel.

Working hard.

Uncle Adam.

 

Because she loved dressing up so much, I did get her a bonnet to wear.  She loved that.

We walked around the Nauvoo temple that was recently built.  The Saints built it before they were forced out of Nauvoo but it was burnt, looted, and knocked down by a tornado.  This is the replica.  It's amazing.

Rolling down the hill. Good times.

 

More pioneer activities.

 

These two.

Their dancing was so funny.   I didn't think Royce would be into this but he loved it.  They learned an Irish jig with a real bag pipe playing the music.

Go Aaron!  I think he won this one.

 

Dorrit and Daddy.

Competitive little bugger.

More pictures of these muddy kids playing.  It was such joy for them to get this dirty.  Not so much fun for me though.  I went through all their clothes that I packed the first day.  Luckily the camp site had a washer and dryer.   

Overall, it was a great trip and as long as we live in the area it's something I would like to do every summer!