Baby Boy is here

Our baby boy was born March 24th and is the sweetest addition our family could have imagined. He is starting to look around and watch his sisters, and his brain is practicing smiling in his sleep, so we get a glimpse of what his sweet smile is going to look like. His sisters adore him and are "helping us" with everything, including diaper changes and pacifiers that have fallen out. Here are a few pics from the hospital and home the first week.

Minutes old looking at Mom

Nana and Papa

Aunt Flo

Godparents


Bathtime

Brother at storytime

Proud Sisters

Pink Tutu

SJ is wearing her pink tutu all the time these days - at the grocery store, outside to play, etc. Had to take a few pics to remember this day and this age...

Waiting on Baby Brother

V took some pictures of us before baby brother is born. I'm scheduled to be induced on Tues, Mar 24th, so only a few more days. The whole pregnancy has gone by so quickly, I guess I am so much busier now than with the first two. We're ready for him, I think. The girls are excited about the whole idea of a baby in the house. SJ spends a lot of time going over all the things she's going to teach him, like jumping on one leg and saying "excuse me" after he burps, and wonders what his favorite color will be. SA is proud of her role as the "biggest sister" and wants to hold him and rock him (but not change any diapers... what's up with that?) They are going to be good big sisters. V keeps laughing at all the little tshirts and socks, it's so hard to remember them being so small. I can't wait to smell his smell... that scent on their foreheads that smells like a baby, and V and I are crazy about baby feet! We can't wait to welcome him to the world (and our crazy house!) in a few days.

Happy 5th Birthday Princess!

SA turned 5 last week. She is just growing up before our eyes, well... really at night when we're not looking, because we're surprised by it all the time. Her new words, new expressions, new ways to think about things seem to mature a little each day. She's such a good big sister to SJ, I am so thankful they have each other. She hasn't lost her "silly" but she has a new serious side too, and a gentle sweet girl side that is thoughtful and considerate. And she's been asked to make a lot of sacrifices lately in prep for the baby, like having her sister move into her room, and has not complained about any of it.

She had a Fancy Nancy party with her girlfriends where we dressed up, put on makeup, painted nails, ate sandwiches with fancy toothpicks, and made parfaits. Dad was the only boy allowed. I think she had a really fun day. Happy Birthday Princess, we love you.

Great Friends

We have such a supportive group of friends at our church that surprised us with a sweet, HUGE shower for the little guy on the way. We thought a few girls were getting together, but they invited all of V's friends at church as well and it was a bigger deal than we knew. The planning and time that went into it really made us so thankful to have friends like these who just wanted to do something nice for us. We had a blast getting to chat, our girls had fun playing with the other kids there, and we are very grateful for all the wonderful gifts that we can definitely use. Here are some pics - thanks again to all who contributed!!!

I also have three other groups of women that took me out to dinner or lunch on separate occasions to celebrate with me. I really loved doing it this way because I got to spend time in an intimate setting with a few good friends at a time and talk and catch up. This has been a really fun couple of weeks!

One other fun thing - my parent's celebrated their 40th anniversary recently (congratulations mom and dad!) and my dad bought my mom and me a day at the spa together. Of course, this was to celebrate *their* anniversary, but to have a massage and pedicure after all the other fun things, was just another little indulgence for me. My mom and I went to shopping, went to lunch and hit the spa in the afternoon while V watched the kids. After all of this pampering, I think I'm about ready for a newborn... I think.

Getting Ready for Baby Brother

We're getting ready for Baby Brother's arrival in a few weeks, so have made some room changes. SJ moved into SA's room (known as the Princess Room) and they now have bunkbeds! We were skeptical about how this would go for the first few weeks, so we made the move ahead of time to allow for an adjustment period. To our complete disbelief, from the very first night it has been great. I think they are comforted to have each other in the room, so they sleep better and there is no more getting up after going to bed for "one more thing." I wasn't expecting our sleep to actually improve when they started sharing a room... well, just in time for it to worsen with the arrival of a newborn.

We got a couple of cute polka dotted reading chairs for their room. Notice what they prefer to play with.

Baby Brother's room is a work in progress still. Paint is somewhat on the walls, furniture and bedding is purchased, crib still in the hall closet, pink floral ceiling fan is still hanging. It will be a cute boy's room soon we hope.

And, last but not least, we are now minivan owners! We loved the little SUV we had, but there was no way to wedge in one more carseat, so as long as we are going for a bigger auto, might as well get power-lift gate and power-sliding doors. I love this freakin' thing, it has already made my life so much easier. V and I know we're not cool anymore, so might as well embrace our new status in life. We're so excited about this used Hyundai minivan, you'd think we just bought a Lexus.

Haircuts

We got both girls' hair cut to a shoulder length bob. Not only are they the cutest look ever on them, but it is SO MUCH easier to deal with for everyone involved. Two seconds to brush, a clip on the side, a headband, or wear it down (which we could never do before when it was long), and we're ready to go! Why didn't we do this sooner?