Three Four

Two weeks ago yesterday, this happened:

:D

 

Simple celebration, but best birthday present ever.

P.S. This.

Presenting The Poppy

Three weeks ago tomorrow, this happened:

A.C.G., 8 lbs. 1 oz., 20.5 in.

Poppy no more!  Our little girl arrived right on schedule, and as healthy as can be.  We're so grateful to have our little one here safe and sound and doing so well.

First portrait

*almost winks*

These three...

A few newborn photos my sister took on day 1

Everything went as well as we could have hoped (almost... epidural man...), and The Wife and The Girl are both doing really great.  You can read all about the birth story here.  (And we were excited to welcome a cousintwin on the exact same day in a neighboring state!)  She's sweet and snuggly and wWe really weren't expecting QUITE that head o' hair, but here's hoping it sticks around, ha ha

Heading home (and, with only three of us, an incomplete family photo!)

We're happy to be home (and watching plenty of Parks and Recreation) and big brother is adjusting to life with a little one just fine.  He's usually quite gentle with her, and even though he can sense something is different, and can be a little sensitive sometimes, he's quickly acclimatizing to our new family dynamic.

Adorable art by my sister to commemorate the occasion

We love our beautiful and bright-eyed and dark-haired little girl!  It's already hard to imagine our family without her.

Family of four

The Season of the Poppy

The Season of the Poppy is nigh.  We've been checking off lots of things on our gradually decreasing list all along the way (it's nice to be able to reuse so many things, unlike last time when we had to get most things for the first time), and the nursery has come together nicely.  At just over a week from the expected due date, it won't be long before our little one stops her abundant squirming and joins us on the outside, and we're excited to see her.  I'm pretty sure that The Boy is even looking forward to meeting the "baby" he keeps hearing about.  He's been pointing out the ultrasound photo and Mommy's growing bump as time has gone by (at times imitating her body language to quite amusing effect), and though he might not grasp exactly what's about to happen, there's every reason to think he'll take to her right away.  We're definitely to the any-day-now phase, though we're thinking she'll probably hang tight until around her due date, just because things seem to be working out a little more normally this time than when The Boy was born.  Following in her big brother's footsteps, The Poppy decided in just the last few weeks to go all breech on us, even though we had seen many times that she was in just the right position (unlike The Boy, who we were TOLD was in the right position, but it turned out probably never really was).  But we waited and tried a couple of things, and for whatever reason, likely because it just felt more natural, a few days later she turned right back down and nestled in for the last of her cozy little time inside.  A couple more appointments confirmed that she's where she should be, and probably will stay there since she's bigger now and has a little less room to move.

Anyway, that's about it, just a quick little post of anticipation before our little family gets a plus-one.  I can already tell she's really active but also really sweet.  It's amazing how much you can feel like you know someone before even meeting them (and yet, then still be completely taken by surprise when you finally do).  I can't wait. XD