Here's a quick movie of us "getting our kite on" at the Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival held on the National Mall. Super fun. Super chilly. Note to all future Kite Festival attendees: COME WITH A KITE. FOR IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL PAY UP THE WAZOO FOR ONE. Nevertheless, fun all around.
Next up...Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend with Grandma Karen. We're so excited for you to get here!
I now have two children. My sweet mom has come and gone. Drew is away on business this week. I feel a little like I've been hit with a ton of bricks. Do you know the feeling?
Oh how spoiled I became with my wonderful husband home for a week and my doting mom here for two. If only I could be waited on hand and foot for eternity, lifting a finger merely to point the way for chores needing to be done. My mom was truly a saint: cooking meals; baking treats; cleaning bathrooms; spoiling Makenna with novelty treats and her precious time; and giving me more sympathy than any post-partum woman deserves. Thank you, Mom. Truly.
Meanwhile, here are a few pictures we've taken since little Addison has come home to her new family. 
Our sweet baby girl is finally here! 
Addison Rachel Mann arrived at 7:57 am Friday morning, weighing in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. She is adorable x10 and fitting in splendidly to our little family. She and her insta-BFF, Makenna, are practically inseparable. We haven't gone a day without big sister laying claim on baby sister, ("My baby. Go away Daddy/Mommy/Grandma. No touch Nenna's baby.")
*She has been a rock star from the get-go with nursing, making all those breastfeeding nightmares with Makenna a distant memory.
*She has formed an intense bond already with her pacifier, teaching me the early benefits of having a child who will take one. Sometimes we refer to it as a "Crying-be-gone" magic piece.
*She is practically perfect in every way. How extraordinary to feel so much love for a little tiny person who says nothing, but can open her eyes, look at you, and in that moment say nearly everything.
Like I said, just another one of her baby dolls.
On a side note, on Saturday morning, Drew and I were sitting in my hospital room, recovering from my very invasive c-section surgery. Drew was reading a magazine and all of a sudden cries out, "OUCH! I just got a paper cut on my finger. Man, it really hurts, Kara."
And that is why women have babies, not men.
Are you ready for this? LESS than 48 hours to go- CRAZY! I just wanted to share a few pictures before we post the ones you really want to see this weekend (yay for WiFi in the hospital).
Just so you know, I've been able to check off the following from my "Before Baby Gets Here" list:
1. Finish independent study classes from BYU- check
2. Organize ALL the closets in the house, top to bottom- check
3. Prepare and give my last YW lesson (for awhile at least)- check
4. Paint/decorate the new nursery- check
5. Redecorate Makenna's room from baby to little girl- check
6. Potty-train my two-year-old, for real this time- check
7. Stock up on a massive amount of diapers- check, thanks to a fabulous deal on Diapers.com
8. Get Drew to do crown molding in the bedrooms- check
And now for the pics...
And let me not forget the fabulous surprise baby shower my Girls' Night friends from the ward threw me. SSS (seriously so surprised)! What a treat to walk into a party that was entirely unexpected, complete with a delectable chocolate fountain, cheesy shower games (my absolute favorite), and lots of adorable presents. Best present of all? Group gift card to Massage Envy for after the baby's born- TO DIE FOR!!! Hopefully I will not be given Bao as my masseuse. Thanks girls- love you!
Sadly, I don't have any of the pictures that were taken at the shower (will post later). Instead, a display of the goodies.
Well it feels good to be ready. Although, how ready can you really be? I don't think we quite know what's about to hit us. We are so overjoyed at the thought of welcoming another beautiful little girl into our family. Lately I've been trying to make the very most out of the special one-on-one time that Makenna and I have grown accustomed to over the past 2 1/2 years, (translation: a few more than usual trips to Chick-fil-A and the mall, copious amounts of read-alouds, and lots of mommy-daughter time in the kitchen). It seems odd, and maybe a little sad, to think that another little somebody will be honing in on that time. I was trying to explain to Drew the other day that this pregnancy has been completely different from my first. I haven't had as much time to feel like I've bonded with the baby before her arrival. I haven't spent hours on my back, watching my stomach move and roll. I just found a baby book for her a couple of days ago and have rushed to record a few things in it about my pregnancy. It feels as if we've just started feeling really comfortable being a family of three with a very independent daughter (who's allowed me an ample amount of freedom), when all of a sudden the rug is being swept out from under my feet and I'm starting back at square one again. Does that sound selfish, or naive? Probably, but it's how I feel. Until Friday, that is. And then my entire outlook on being a mother of two will change and I will fall completely in love...again.
