Adjustable

Our little guy will be 3 weeks old tomorrow already! Our adjustments have been going well, and we're getting a little bit more sleep at night as our little buddy continues to get used to life in the real world.

Reading to her baby brother.

One of his favorite places to nap is right in the middle of the living room floor.

Party Time!

Yesterday our big-little girl turned 3 years old! We had a fun little party in the backyard with a few friends. What fun a kiddie pool in the sunshine and some friends can be! Thanks, guys for celebrating with us!

Bombs away!

A satisfying splash

The water was colder than they let on, and after this particular self-dunking, she showed how she really felt. :)

Singing at the top of their lungs, running through the sprinkler, splashing in the pool, eating birthday cake, sipping cold lemonade... pretty much the best day ever.

All three girls, "Can i please have the PINK flower???" Good thing we made more than one pink flower. Super yummy cake made by Memere. Nothing beats Memere's chocolate cake with buttercream frosting!

This little party pooper slept through the whole thing.

Munching in the shade and gearing up for another round in the pool.

Auntie Lindsey cuddling our big 3 year old. Lindsey is my cousin/childhood friend - and like a sister to me. She was there in the delivery room the day our Quinn was born, and has been a huge help playing with Nadia while we go to dr's appointments, etc. Thank you, friend! Love!

Her husband, Jeff, is generally less helpful. (grin) But here he's taking our newborn for a test drive. Quinn is a perfect baby to warm up with. It looks good on you, Jeff.

Despite our most earnest efforts, our friends came with lots of fun gifts.

She put some of those gifts to good use immediately.

Just under 2 weeks after delivering our new baby boy, we decided to throw our big sister a party. We might be a little nuts. My mom did almost all the work herself (Phil blew up a few balloons and set up a table and chairs). I sat around with our newborn and soaked it all in. Thank you so much, Mom! Nadia will never forget this party.

The end of an outrageously fun day, watching the sun sink away.

And painting a picture in the pretty evening light. Happy birthday, sayangku, si kecil, bocah 3 tahun!

One Week On

A whole week has past since our Quinn has joined us. Our transitions have been... many. :) ...and smooth, for the most part.

We still have yet to meet with the specialist for his cleft palate, but we did get news that he will need surgery eventually. We are so glad to trust a God who is always ultimately good. We know He's not made a mistake, and that He'll walk us through this just as He's walked us through every other thing.

We are so thankful for our healthy, beautiful little boy, and have enjoyed getting to know him at home this week.

Last week still in the hospital visiting with Memere and Memere Cece (my memere).

"Can I, can i, can i, can i, can i hold him please?"

"Hey mom, look. He close his eyes like this. Why he DO that?"

I don't know, my darling, but i'm sure glad he does. :) At home cuddled up in the sunshine of an open window.

Stationed in the early evening sunshine, attempting to rid his little body of his excess levels of bilirubin. He was a little bit jaundiced, but thankfully, we were able to come home - and that it has cleared up. He's a much nicer shade of pink now. And his shiners (he came out with two black eyes... apparently a fast delivery is not so much fun for a newborn as it might be for a mommy) are clearing up and he's looking more and more like a "real boy" every day. :0)

Quinn, or "Bitty Boy" as Nadia has begun calling him, is such a sweet little baby. He's a walk in the park compared to our last newborn (Sorry, T2YO - you are so much more fun now as a big girl).

In related news, the rest of the family has been working hard to carry on with life as usual. Nadia is using her new found skill of hose wielding to "play" with daddy. Or, as she claims, "He was on fire! I had to spray him!"

I couldn't help myself. I had to post this photo of Papa all dressed up (for Nadia's sake? :0) and ready to soak his feet in the blow up pool (which, incidentally, is the best $8 Memere has ever spent).

Quinn Gabriel

At 3pm on July 5th (yesterday for us), our son Quinn Gabriel was born! He didn't put up nearly the fight to be born that his big sister did, and after only 6 hours of labor and 4 big pushes, he joined us here in the land of the living.

He weighed in at 7lbs and 6 oz, and is 20 inches long.

We're so happy and thankful for our new little guy. He's healthy (except for a small cleft palate issue), and strong and already practicing his sleeping.

Nadia is enthralled - She thinks "he has very cute knees." :0)

She came by for a visit and got to hold him. She was such a big girl about it. When he started sqwaking, she just calmly looked up and said, "I think you can have him now"

Thank you all for your love and prayers and support! We're so blessed and grateful for our new little joy! We think we'll be in the hospital until Thursday morning, so if you'd like to stop by, just drop us a line.

July 4th Fun

With only this evening left before our baby boy shows up, we did our best to celebrate our nation's independence day. It was a perfect day for the celebrations - sunny, warm, and slightly breezy. :0)

Memere and Nadia chillin in a pool

Playing in the yard last week with daddy on my yoga ball

Checking the garden before leaving for church yesterday.

Not missing out on an opportunity to ham it up

This morning at the big parade, waving her flag like an old pro

Posing with fireman Joe and Papa

The music and the bands were by far her favorite (ours too)

Although this guy was pretty cool too

Papa sitting in the shade with Uncle Tom's dog

Memere, curbside with Nadia, wearing the awesome hat

Tomorrow morning we head to the hospital to be induced. Even though it's a rough procedure, and it's bound to be a long day, I'd say we're pretty ready. I am anyway. :0)

Stay tuned for news!

More Beach Fun with Family

Our faithful laptop has been "in the shop" for the past week. Thank God for Apple Care! We're happy to have it back, and now I can post about a little more beach fun we've had recently.

Napping on the hour long drive to Spofford Lake in New Hampshire. I grew up going to that lake and hanging out during hot summer days. I'm not really sure exactly where I learned to swim, but Spofford Lake was one of the places I honed that skill, to be sure. I've got lots of happy, summer memories of that place, and it was fun to make a few more with my parents as we played with Nadia and each other.

Floaties and tubies are a must!

"Memere, come on in! It's nice and warm!" It wasn't. :)

But the funny thing about Memeres is that they're willing to do just about anything for their grandchildren. Here's Memere and Nadia practicing some kicking in the "warm" water.

The day could not have been clearer, brighter or more pleasant. It was one of those New England summer days that I wish I could bottle up and keep.

Swimming, digging, kicking, running, jumping, diving and rolling around like a happy puppy in the sand makes this little girl one sleepy baby.