Highlights

We seem to be taking less pictures this week- dealing more with real life, but still loving every minute we have together. 

Sometimes awake-

Sometimes asleep-

Occasionally outside-

Usually inside- admiring every inch of Emma.  (Adam had pointy elf ears when he was a newborn, too)

Taking it slow, but loving life every day.  Only once in a while wondering, "What did we get ourselves into?!"

Froot Loop Jammies

It's officially a tradition-

Emma- 3 weeks

Adam- 2 weeks

Leah- 2 weeks

Any guesses that they're siblings?

Visitors

We were all so excited to have my mom and sister Allison come out to visit us.  Even though I spent most of our visit resting and recovering (gratefully), Leah and Adam had a fantastic time with their two live-in playmates.  They got to do every activity on Leah's list- and then some- and had so much fun every day. 

My favorite activity to watch was the hunt for fairies in the enchanted garden (aka our backyard). 

Adam's favorite activity was a tie between flying in the blue helicopter-

and playing Angry Birds on Allison's phone-

And Leah loved all of the dressing up, making-up, and making believe.

Emma loved that Grandma and Auntie Al were in Indiana on her birth day-

 And at the end of the trip, we were all so sad to see them go.  It was wonderful having them here.

Emma First, Then The Rest of Us

Emma is a complete source of joy and delight for all of us.  She nurses, poops, and sleeps like a pro, only cries when necessary, and has such a huge spirit in her tiny little body.  I can't get enough of her tiny hands and feet, her soft hair, and her smooth skin.  We are all completely enamored by her.

Adam is non-stop fun.  He tries so hard to do everything himself, which can be a great help (when he's clearing his dishes) or a great exercise in patience (like when he's trying to put on his own diaper). 

He says the funniest things.  A few conversations-

*While watching me nurse Emma- "Baby Emma take milk from Mommy's... elbow!  Silly Emma!"

*When he can't sleep at night- "My angry bird looks angry at me!"

*Handing me a tiny piece of hard-boiled egg yolk- "Is this baby Emma's poop?"

*And he loves to report, "The baby crying! The baby crying!"

He loves to pretend he is a different character every day- he has been Leah, baby Emma, Ariel, Birdie (our occasional nickname for Emma because she opens her mouth so wide to nurse), a T-Rex, and Super-Boy, defender of helpless animals.

Leah has picked up on motherese- she is constantly cooing, "Oh Emma, Oh Emma.  You found your eyebrows, yes you did.  Here is your pacifier, you big, big girl.  Oh my!  You're upset.  It's okay, it's okay." 

She is counting down the days until preschool starts, does a great job of helping me with Adam and Emma, and delights in picking flowers out of our yard to beautify our home.  On the day Emma was born, she insisted on getting dressed in her "hospital dress" and picking flowers out of our friend's yard, "to tell me congratulations!"  Today she told me, "Mom, you are the greatest mom I've ever had!" I'll take it.

Jason cooks dinner, feeds the kids breakfast, forgets appointments, and may or may not have damaged some work property while sleep-deprived.  He plays with the kids, sweeps the floor, and lets me talk his ear off when the day is over.

I haven't found the transition to 3 to be too hard yet, but then I laugh and remember that in the 21 days that Emma has been with us, my mom and sister were with us for 13 days, all but 6 of our dinners have been made by my mom or dropped off by a friend, and I can count on Emma sleeping plenty of hours each day, giving me ample opportunity to catch up on sleep lost at night.  Of course the transition hasn't been hard... yet! 

We'll just keep taking one day at a time.  Yesterday I had all three of my babies snuggled onto the couch with me, each wanting to get as close to their mama as possible.  And I realized that it was one of the best moments of my life- we are feeling very blessed in our home.

And two seconds later, when Adam spilled water all over the rug and Leah hopped off the couch and Emma started crying, I still felt thankful for the amazing blessings that we have been given- reality and all!

Two Weeks

Emma is two weeks old today.  She sleeps a lot

has had her first bath, 

loves her daddy, 

 her sister and brother, 

and mommy most of all.

We spend a lot of time admiring her tiny toes

smiley faces

 and overall perfection.

The rest of us have more than survived (up until two days ago, anyway) thanks to our amazing helpers.  We miss them immensely!

Movies of Emma

The last week in pictures- by Jason

Emma with Shari, the NICU nurse who happened to be on-call as a paramedic when Emma was born.  She was first on the scene.  Melanie's other paramedic's name was Jim. 

 2-hour old Emma

The kids came to meet Emma on Thursday morning.  Leah and Adam adore Emma.  Leah's eyes light up every time she sees/holds/talks about Emma.  Adam enjoys Emma from a distance and likes to pretend that he is baby Emma.

While Leah loves holding Emma, Adam was content to hold her for about 10 seconds before declaring, "All done."

The hospital provided a celebratory dinner for our family on Thursday night.  Leah and Adam were eager helpers and Adam helped push Emma into the dinner room.  Leah spent most of dinner making sure that Emma's pacifier didn't fall out of her mouth. 

 

 

During dinner when Adam saw Melanie holding Emma, he asked to be swaddled and held.  Leah liked the idea and joined in as well.

Daddy's girls

Leah held Emma for a while so that Melanie could enjoy her dinner.

By Friday morning everyone felt ready to go home.

Emma is adjusting to life at home and is enjoying all of the attention she gets.

 

Melanie, Leah, Adam, and I are also adjusting to life with baby Emma.  Aside from a few extra yawns during the day everyone is happy and grateful that Emma Grace is a part of our family.