Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was great this year. We had Bryan's Brother James and his wife Natalie come down and spend it with us. It is so great to have family closer. I can't even remember the last time we spent Thanksgiving with family.

So in honor of having family with us we decided it would be exciting to undercook the turkey this year. It is the great centerpiece of the dinner and why not have it be pink and raw on the inside. So Bryan, being the genius he is, whipped out the grill and grilled that turkey breast. Personally I think it tasted better that way. I think it may be a new tradition, to purposely undercook the turkey so we can have that delicious grill flavor. Makes the day a bit more exciting, don't you think?

The kids were starving, starving I tell you! It was so hard to wait for the yummy food.

Luckily we had tons of it to satisfy them. It was super yummy if you ask me. Between Natalie's yams and James's amazing chocolate pecan cheesecake I think it's safe to say we had our fill.
The kids had a great time playing. My personal favorite was when they came up in doctor's coats and started giving everyone shots. I think every doctor should be required to wear a pink sun hat. It adds to their credibility at giving a diagnosis.
This is the food coma that was the result of the delicious dinner.

The rest of the weekend was obviously spent watching "The Game." (Sorry about the underline I can't seem to stop it. Maybe blogger is thinking this is the really important part of the post). We lost "The Game" but I did have some girls dressed up dang cute, which kind of makes up for the loss. Kind of.

The good news is Urban Meyer is the new coach, so maybe next year we can totally redeem ourselves.

Have you ever seen a cuter little buckeye in all your life? I could just kiss that face all day long. Okay, I DO kiss that face all day long.

We also went to church this weekend. I know that may seem like a small task but with four girls to get ready before 9:00AM and to make it on time is a feat worthy of some kind of award. Lily looked so cute in the outfit my dear friend Kiki made her. Unfortunately she is a newborn and peed all over it. I HAD to have a picture, so this is all I could get before I needed to remove her wet clothes.
We also set up our Christmas decorations. The girls have manhandled every single one of them. I suppose that's what it's all about. I don't know if my tree will survive the season. Christmas has been the focus of all play around here.
Poor Lily is also manhandled every single morning/waking moment. Her sisters sure love her and give her LOTS of attention. What baby doesn't want to be mauled with attention every now and then?

I can't believe how much she is changing already. It's only been three weeks and I feel like she's doubled in size. I want to enjoy every sleepless/crazy/blissful minute of it.

I'm starting to feel like I can't be in fifty places at once. It seems that sometimes everyone needs me at once, my house is in dire need of a cleaning, my fridge is empty and I only have two arms but it is worth every minute. I have LOVED having a newborn again. I could stare at this face all day long.

Audrey has been requesting "Belle" hair every single day this week. She even wore a crown to Target. She stared at herself in the mirror at least fifty times this day.

So many pictures, I know. I can't get enough.

One and a Half Weeks

Here we are at 1 1/2 weeks of age. This little Lily is the sweetest thing you have ever met. Maybe because it's been over three years since I've had a newborn but let me tell you, I am soaking it up. I am taking the time to enjoy every minute because it just goes by too fast. Pretty soon she'll be running around with her sisters and I need to just snuggle her while I can. My mom left yesterday and we were so lucky to have her come and stay. She spoiled us rotten and definitely wins mom of the year award. Otherwise I am doing pretty good on my own. It is an adjustment for sure but I am so glad to have the precious girl here. Totally worth the lack of sleep. Now here are some pictures that some have requested...

I really could hold her all day long. Unfortunately I do have a six and three year old to tend to as well. I can tell this little one is going to have to be pretty easy going.

We sure do love this Lily. Thanks to friends and family that have called, sent presents, flowers, food and so forth. We are so blessed to have you all. We love this little baby so much and are thankful she is here safe, sound and healthy. I couldn't feel more blessed.

She's Here!

Well I headed into the hospital November 10 to be induced. I like inductions because you get to have a nice "before" picture like this one.

Instead of the "somebody please put me out of my misery" picture like this one. Things went great though. I went in at noon and because my doctor wanted to finish his clinic hours they waited to break my water so he could make it. After they broke my water it was a mere 45 minutes and she was out. I'm not sure if my epidural wasn't as strong or if the fact that it only took 45 minutes to go from a 5 to baby out but that ending was pretty intense. Thankfully I only pushed a few times and out she came. Everyone kept saying she looked so big and that her head was really round. That could also explain why it was pretty intense.

But oh my goodness, is she worth it. Isn't she beautiful? I had the BEST nurse ever. I guess that's what you get for being a resident's wife. I deserve a little bit of special treatment. She really was amazing.

There is nothing like holding your new baby for the first time.

Introducing our Lily Florence. She was 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. And I'll tell you what. I am SO glad to have our OUT.

Nothing in this world is more sweet than welcoming a precious little baby into the world. It is such a spiritual and amazing experience and I am so thankful that things went well and that she came out pink and screaming. We are completely in love with her and she feels so much a part of our family.

My Dr. is also the best. He missed my first two deliveries and made it a priority to get to this one. I had him pretty stressed out about making it, but make it he did. We were so glad to have him there.

The proud father.

The excited big sisters. They were so happy she was here. Audrey was totally freaked out by my i.v. but she loved looking at the new baby.

Julia is going to be the best helper.

So is Audrey. I am so blessed to have these three girls.

This little Lily has lots of hair like her sisters. In may ways she resembles them but we are pretty sure she's going to have her own look.

Oh I could kiss her cheeks off.

Her coming home outfit. The girls helped me pick it out.

I was SO ready to get out of that hospital. It is so nice to have her home.

Welcome to the world Lily! We are so happy to have you here.

The Trick or Treat

Halloween night couldn't have been more exciting at our house. I think Julia finally hit the age where trick or treating is the most awesome thing EVER.

Have you ever seen a cuter Minnie Mouse?

How about Supergirl? (Audrey pronounces it "superdoowl," cutest thing ever).

We went trick or treating with some great friends of ours. These kids literally ran the entire night. I kept thinking they would slow down but they kept the pace for two full hours.

Collecting the goods.

Audrey has a serious crush on 8 year old Isaac. Look at her gaze at him adoringly. I don't think he has any idea how awesome she thinks he is. It is hilarious.

Some of the houses really got decked out for the holiday. Check out that scary dude in between the cars. Supergirl wouldn't get any closer than this picture. I can't say I blame her.

This was another spooky house. I must admit it made trick or treating a little bit more exciting.

They had the hot air balloons out by our house again this year. It was so cool.

Here the girls are enjoying the spoils of their hard trick or treating work.

It really was such a fun night.

And here we are just shy of 39 weeks. I'll tell you what. I am getting ready to get this show on the road. This baby is getting SO big. Okay maybe not just the baby. I have a hard time walking up the stairs. So yeah, it's time. Hopefully soon you'll all be hearing about our sweet little girl.