Introducing our dream girl

I can hardly believe it's been nearly two months since we welcomed our dream girl into the family. Miss Amelia Noelle was born on November 21st at 7 pounds and 5 ounces of pure sugar. Here are some pictures from our first few days together at the hospital. At first glance she looked just like Asher except with a full head of dark hair.

Sidenote: Per her beautiful dark hair and rosy complexion it's been decided that she will be Snow White for her first Disney princess Halloween.

"Is she still a girl?" I asked just seconds after her birth from behind the blue curtain. This mom of three boys can still hardly believe her luck! Nice to meet you girl of my dreams. 

 Her first bath, and manicure. :-)

Gigi and Poppy with their new grandgirl and the traditional first "Happy Birth-day" cake.

 

Thankfully, my recovery from this fourth cesarean has far exceeded my (albeit low) expectations. Praise the Lord! In fact, I've told many people that this has been the best recovery of all my babies, and for that we are so grateful. No doubt the amazing meals and support received from family and friends made our holiday homecoming and transition to a family of six that much more smooth and special.

Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?! Maybe tiny baby hands...

As far as newborns go, Amelia is a lovely baby. She's been a great nurser from hour one and sleeps wonderfully at night-thank you Jesus! Of course she wakes to eat, but goes right back down easily and without a fuss, and at 2 months old is already giving me consistent 5-6 hour stretches of sleep. At her one month well baby appointment she was up to a whopping 9 and a half pounds and is continuing to grow and thrive in every way. This lady baby graced us with her first smiles at 4 weeks old and is already cooing up a storm...I predict girly giggles on the way soon!

As far as her personality goes, the Lord has truly blessed us with the most content babe. He certainly knew what we needed from number 4!  She must know how loved and adored she is! Her big brothers dote on her daily, and as the saying goes she is truly daddy's girl and mommy's world.

Sometimes I wish I had a forcefield to protect her from her brothers, other times I think "who doesn't love a good smothering every now and again?"

This new baby stage is my absolute favorite, and knowing she's our last little one makes it all the sweeter. I have a feeling we're going to need to watch out because this one is going to be spoiled rotten! Having a girl has always been a dream of mine and I feel so incredibly blessed to be her mommy.

Ps-Girl shopping is the BEST!

Asher is two!!

This soon to be big brother is TWO years old today! We are so thankful for this beautiful boy of ours. He loves his the great outdoors, animals, cookies and all things musical. A true boy at heart, he is all about balls and bikes. Though he plays the shy guy while we're out and about, he is a goofball at home and has the sweetest smile and best laugh. And not to mention-awesome hair! Beloved by his brothers, he is spoiled rotten-and he knows it. 

Two weeks ago we celebrated his birthday in Fall fashion with friends and family- just in case baby girl decided to make an early debut. It was a perfect Fall afternoon and Asher loved playing with his sweet little friends in our backyard. We are so thankful for all of the thoughtful gifts and love for this growing boy of ours.

 Happy birthday Asher, we love you!

Baby girl update

It's November and that means it's baby girl's birth month! God willing, we will meet this little lady on November 21 via scheduled Cesarean. While I'm not at all looking forward to the surgery and recovery, I'm pleased to say that most of my anxiety has been overwhelmed by the sheer excitement and anticipation of meeting her. Can I just say here that shopping for baby girls is SOOOO much fun?!

Just kidding...but seriously. ;-)

As we enter the homestretch, I have to note how thankful I am that this has truly been an easy pregnancy so far. Of course, it's not been completely without those lovely back aches and pains, but overall I feel really good and would even say it's been the least strenuous of all four. The difference? I can only attribute it to being active and busy with my boys. In any case, I am anxious to reclaim some nighttime sleep and better mobility!

Here's a few bump pics from the last few months...it's bittersweet knowing this will be the last of them, but on some level that has made this season all the more special.

The picture above is with the Reynolds gals over fancy tea and delicious treats. My mom did a fabulous job planning a special tea to honor baby girl and it was great to reconnect with cousins and aunts.

And here I am below at 36 weeks. This pic was taken at my sweet prayer shower thrown by lovey friend Sarah and church home group. I am so thankful to share this new life alongside such amazing women and mamas! Baby girl is so loved all ready. I can't wait to introduce her to the world, to friends and family who have richly blessed with gifts, showered us in pink and prayers and sweet words of encouragement.

 

No doubt we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Fall Festivities

Ripe with crisp mornings, gorgeous color and memories for the making, Fall is surely my favorite season. Sandwiched in between the state Fair and Halloween, October has been packed with plenty of fun family festivals, beautiful days and wayyy too much sugar. It's our first year celebrating Halloween in Apex and on top of a few community and church events we attended, we hit the jackpot trick or treating in our neighborhood. The boys are really blessed to be living in such a safe, family friendly hood where many of the houses went all out decorating. For me, I'll call it a day with my pretty purple mum and save the real decorating for Christmas. :-)

Here's a few pics from our church's annual "Reformation Day" party, Chris' work sponsored family Fall Festival and a local trunk or treat. The boy's were swimming in candy even before the 31st! What can I say, we do it up...

Our red power ranger, transformer and little monkey had a blast walking around with friends on Halloween night after pre-gaming the night with a pizza party in our shared cul-de-sac.

Seriously, this year shall go down as "Candy-geddon"! So.much.candy. I have to note here that 2017 was our first year to actually carve pumpkins with the boys. In the past we've decorated them with sticker faces and other kid friendly craft kids(much to mom's delight!), but this year the boys were super excited to carve their own jack-o-lanterns. Where reality met the road, they were excellent at scooping out the insides, and left daddy to do the rest. Good job honey!

On the downside, having kiddos with allergies and asthma is no fun when the seasons change, especially in a state that can't quite make up it's mind about what season it is! It's been a rough patch dealing with chronic coughs, colds and scary asthma flare ups. In any case, I'll choose to be grateful in this new month of November for the gift of modern medicine and again, all the joys awaiting us still this Fall-Asher's second birthday and the arrival of baby girl just to name a few!