Olivia Faith is 2 Weeks Old!

Our sweet little girl is 2 weeks old today! Wow, these last 14 days have flown! We have all loved welcoming Olivia Faith into our family. Kiran and Ellery are a great big brother and big sister team! They love talking to Olivia! Almost every time Kiran looks at her, he says, "She's just soooooo adorable!" And, Ellery says, "I want to see Baby" or "I want to hold Baby Livia." She can say her name correctly but seems to enjoy this shorter version. We have had such incredible help around here for the past 2 weeks! First, our wonderful friends, Sally and Keith and Hannah took care of Kiran and Ellery while we were at the hospital. Then, Cookie came for a week. Now, Aunt Amanda is here for a week! One of the awesome things about having family here is that I get to sleep in in the mornings after being up for night feedings. Woohoo! I am feeling really good thanks to all the help! Anyway, everyone is up when Olivia and I get up in the mornings, and the first thing the big kids say is "We want to see Olivia!" (Forget about Mommy! Where is our baby sister? It's really sweet! I get my morning hugs one way or another - usually a few tickles is a sure bet :) )

Olivia is such a sweety and is really laidback so far! She maybe has to be with all of the wild activity going on around her! On Monday evening (Day 12), Olivia lost her umbilical cord "stump" (what a name, seriously, and what a milestone - we did not save it in case anyone was wondering)! And, after her late afternoon nap that day, she began really focusing in on our faces! She is doing great at night. Last night and 2 others were exceptions. In my opinion, it was because we changed around the routine that had been working for us. We'll learn from that and fix it quickly tonight! Overall, though, Olivia is amazing at night - she eats, gets changed, eats again, then goes back to sleep for 2 separate night feedings! This lets Mommy and everyone else get rest, too! Thanks, sweet Olivia! Olivia's least favorite thing is getting touched by cold hands (a problem of being born in a colder winter) and bath time (probably because she gets cold again). But, boy does she LOVE her hair washing time - something we learned from the nurse at the hospital who gave Olivia her first bath!



Waking up is hard to do.












The next few photos were all taken on Valentine's Day. We sure have some sweet Valentines!

More Pictures of Olivia Faith

More pictures available here (flickr.com)

Introducing Olivia Faith

Olivia Faith was born this morning at 8:27. She is 6 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. Here are a few quick pictures (more to come):

We Will Meet You Tomorrow, Sweet Baby Girl!

Well, tomorrow is the big day! We can't wait to meet our new little girl! What an incredible blessing! We are packed and ready. The kids are snug in bed and are so excited to meet their sister! We have had the most wonderful week just enjoying Kiran and Ellery and each other. Now, we are all ready to welcome this sweet little girl into our family of five. Here she was on December 28th!


Last photos tonight of my belly before her big arrival!






Just a few recent shots of our family of four!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving with Family

We have been blessed over the past few months to have family visiting us! And, we have more family coming in a few weeks! We are not doing much traveling right now due to our house renovations and the fact that I am a week and a half into my third trimester! Wow - it's going by so quickly!

Okay, just a word before we share about our latest visitors. We are so thankful to be close to our families in spirit, even though we are far away in physical distance. And, we are so grateful that they are willing to keep in touch in many different ways - through mail, phone calls, Skyping, and as often as possible, they make big sacrifices to complete the long journey to come see us. Thank you to all of you for your love and for all that you do to be close to us. We love you!

Last week, Cookie and Papa came to share Thanksiving with us. We had a wonderful time with them. Life is definitely interesting at our house these days. You never know if a wall or ceiling or floor is going to be missing from one day to the next. Cookie and Papa were not only very supportive of our current state of living but also incredibly helpful in getting us another step forward in our renovation process. We did a little work, had a lot of fun, and just enjoyed being together each day! The kids just can't get enough of having family visit and they had a blast!


Fun time out in the front yard - one of our favorite things about our new house!


A Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving Meal! We decided that with all of the construction, we should take it easy and not make a huge meal this year. I found out that Cracker Barrel will cook and package a meal for 6 to go. It was perfect and really yummy for us this year!



A little Thanksgiving nap - yes, he did fall asleep with his hand tucked under his belt!

Afternoon reading time

Fun with Papa

Cookie always helps out with things around the house when she comes - it is wonderful! This time, Ellery joins in!



A nice afternoon walk on Thanksgiving












Observing pumpkins the kids picked at their school this year

Playing in Kiran's room (well, currently "the kids'" room as Ellery's space is under construction). There was lots of imaginative play this week, especially "doctor." I think Cookie survived all of her flu shots from Nurse Ellery. I must say though that Cookie really missed out, as I have been getting the flu mist all week since they left!

Daddy and Papa working hard on more demolition and preparation for the new bathroom. Papa has done so much to help us, and we are very grateful for this!

A craft project with Cookie!

Guess who!



You never know what new toys you might find in a house that is being renovated. Here, Cookie gets a ride on the rolling base of a contractor trash can! As you can imagine, the kids thought this was wonderful!

Playing ball with Cookie

A few creative games we played one night with Papa!



An afternoon at the park!





Go Kiran, go! He has recently figured out how to do the monkey bars. He just decided to try it one day, and he can't get enough!

Okay, so I decided to sneak in a photo of our growing baby at 28 weeks!


Waiting for a fun train ride!












This was such a special evening! Our favorite part of the ride was when we decided to go on the outdoor car. It was cold, but we all snuggled under a favorite quilt and loved the cold November air and seeing the beautiful moon! What a wonderful week! We love you Cookie and Papa!