Settling In

I never thought that life with 3 kids 3 and under would be easy, but, I'm not sure how people do it. The most common scenario these days- I have a baby nursing in my lap, a one year old about to leap off the coffee table, and a 3 1/2 year old egging him on and occasionally giving him a "helpful" push.

But, alas, there are the few moments of silence when they are all asleep and I can bask in the peacefulness of our new baby girl. She is sweet, calm, and smells delicious. I know that many of you may not believe me, but boys really do have a boyish smell, even from the time that they are born.

I love how she still keeps her feet curled up beneath her.

She has some long, delicate fingers and toes. Maybe she'll be a pianist or a ballerina.

As for now, baby Harper sleeps through the commotion. I know that soon she will all too much a part of the commotion or even the cause of it. Until that time comes, I'm just going to enjoy her sweet, wonderful calmness and pray that it lasts for a little while.

Welcome Baby Harper

I know this post is long overdue, especially since I have been plastering her all over Facebook, but I wanted to make sure I got an official blog post in. As many of you know, Harper was a little stubborn in her arrival. My body was ready to go but she was just hanging out right on the brink of....well, you know. Dr. Sterling suggested that I could go ahead and be induced because he felt like she would come too quickly if my water were to break. I opted for yes, please help encourage her into this world. Well, we went in Wednesday morning at 7:30 am on July 21st and baby Harper entered the world at 1:01 pm.

I could not have asked for a better birth. It was calm and for the most part pain free. The best part is that she literally entered this world amidst laughter. Who could ask for a more joyous birth! I hope that reflects in her personality. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long.

Proud parents of our new baby girl (which I did have the Dr. confirm when she came out, you never know).

Ryan's parents brought the boys up later that night once we were settled into a room. Lincoln was enthralled, while Madden, on the other hand, would barely give her the time of day. He's finally starting to come around.

Here's our first picture as a new family of 5.

Unfortunately, Ryan had to go to work the next day. Here are some pics that I snapped of Harper while we were hanging out at the hospital.

Love her little newborn feet.

Ryan came back to get us after he got off of work. It was a very short hospital stay, which was nice.

We went and picked up the boys from his parent's house. People suggested that we leave them there one more night and spend our first night with baby alone. I really missed my boys though so I wanted us all to go home together. Later I realized that "the people" were probably right. It was quite chaotic but we made it through.

As you can tell, Madden was still not quite sure what to think.

So here she is, our new baby girl. Welcome to the world little one! We love you so much and we are so excited to add you to our family. We cannot wait to watch you grow and see your personality blossom.