"what too, brother" (=love you, brother)

Amelia is a very loving sister. She gets very concerned if Ben cries. She asks to hold him every day and gives him lots of hugs and kisses. One day I needed to go outside for a minute and asked her if she wanted to come. She looked at me and furrowed her brow and said, "momma...watch brother" and walked over to Ben to let me know she was going to stay and look after him. It was so cute because she never turns down the chance to go outside. She loves to point out all of his body parts including his chin and elbows and count his fingers and toes. The very fashion conscious Amelia makes sure to let him know how cute he is when his outfit is changed and makes sure the blanket he is wrapped in is soft enough.

Philip in Montreal

Well, I survived Philip leaving me for 3 days with a 1 week old baby and a toddler while he went to Montreal for "work". I'm not sure why I thought this would be a good idea, but it worked out and he had a good time. Luckily, I had meals from ladies in the ward, so I could lounge around and catch up on sleep. I think Amelia missed him most and insisted that we "call daddy" multiple times a day, and one morning even requested nicely, "more daddy, please".

We're home

On Friday, we came home. Naomi and my neighbor Bekah made a welcome home sign. Naomi and I decided to go to the beach one last time before she headed back to landlocked and somewhat cold South Dakota. Amelia had fun smothering Ben with kisses and dumping sand near him. Ben did great staying all snuggled up and out of the sun. Yes, I know some might be wagging their fingers at me for taking a 2 day old baby to the beach, but it was just what we all needed to relax and start fresh after being cooped up for the last 2 days.

Why is naming a baby so hard????

Philip and I had been toying with the names Benjamin and Frederick long before he was born and just couldn't decide which one fit him best. About 24 hours after he was born, I had to fill out the birth certificate info and had to make the decision. I chose Benjamin Joseph, much to Philip's disappointment, but he was very accommodating. A few hours later, when Philip came for a visit, he proposed we change the middle name to Frederick so we could use both the names. Both of loved it so much, I called the office and had it changed. So it is officially Benjamin Frederick Bagley. My brother Jared pointed out that he will dread filling out scantrons in school.

It's a Boy

I think all of you know, we had our little boy on Wednesday, July 9 at 11:49am. He was 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long. He has some hair, but he already has a receding hairline. Labor and delivery was unbelievably fast and went very well. He had the cord wrapped pretty tightly around his neck, but within a minute or so of nurses rubbing and squeegeeing, he started to cry and he has been fine ever since. I feel like I gave birth months ago and can't believe it's just been a few days. (Sorry to those who do not share this type of experience. I am not trying to brag, I am just so amazed at what a better birth this was than Amelia's)

Cousin Me-o-me

Amelia enjoyed having Me-o-me (Naomi) here to stay with her, and she did such a great job running the house and taking care of Amelia while I was in the hospital. Naomi was a good sport and put up with Amelia's demands for watching the same 5 Pixar movies over and over. In return, Naomi got to spend many fun hours jumping the waves in Malibu.

July 4th Fun

For the 4th of July we enjoyed a nice day at the beach. Naomi (my niece visiting from South Dakota) enjoyed jumping the waves most of the day. Later we went to the park in Woodland Hills and enjoyed some music and a great fireworks show. Amelia liked the lights, but hated the sounds they made. She insisted that we each hold our hands up to her ears even after they ended.