7 weeks!

Our girl is 7 weeks old today!  She had her two month check-up and she is 10 lbs 10 oz and 21.5 inches long.  The girl loves to eat!  We are so thankful she is doing so well.
The big kids finished up 1st grade this month.  They both had such wonderful teachers.  I can’t even believe that they’re second graders now — what in the actual world?!
Highlights of Luke’s year included Mad Science Club, Magic Treehouse books, hot lunch (he’d have it every day if I let him!  Especially the fried chicken!) and anything to do with Star Wars, robots, legos or The Incredibles.  He loves riding his bike and swimming. He is an incredibly kind person — I’m so proud of who he is!
Amelia loves music — she and her buddy Claire performed “Amazing Grace” in the school talent show — she was so brave to sing in front of the whole school!  She’s always listening to “my very own playlist” on her dad’s phone.  She’s forever working on arts and crafts and is requesting to play soccer in the fall.  Her teacher said she “really blossomed” this year and we couldn’t agree more — she’s such a cool kid and I can’t believe I get to be her mama.

Soccer camp!  Me: "Luke did you like soccer?"  Luke: "Every single minute, mom!"

Celebrating Father's Day with Pie-in-the-face!

He's such a great dad!

Fun for all generations :)

Gotta get Gramps too!!

Meeting our sweet Martha!

Joseph Moran Hally is here!  Born 6/7/18 -- just five weeks younger than our Vivi girl.  So excited  these two will get to grow up together.  Can't wait to see the adventures they'll have!

Five weeks old!  Already learning to give us the stink eye - ha!

And the smiles too :)

Last day of 1st grade!

This is her one month photo - Amelia wants to take a picture each month with her bow and bunny. Love my girls!

4 weeks with our sweet girl!

We got to celebrate Viv’s 4 week mark with a family weekend at the coast!!!  It’s our last hoorah before Scott’s paternity leave is done.  I’m in denial about that part and just soaking in these sweet moments with my favorite people on earth ... 

I’m ridiculously proud of my bigs for how well they’ve transitioned into their new roles as big brother and sister.  They are loving and tender and kind to their new sister — and of course, they’re 7, so they find her diapers hilarious as potty humor is at an all time high in 1st grade :) Amelia is quick to remind me that she’s not just my baby, she is OUR baby. There are certainly unique challenges to a seven year age gap (and they will continue!) but it also allows for such a sweet relationship as they get to be so involved with her.  Plus, let’s be honest, it’s been much easier to rest and recover with the kids at school for the first month of her life!  Next week is the last week of school so my quiet baby-snuggling days are over for awhile but they will be replaced with good kid-energy and outings (and maybe a few mommy meltdowns!). 

Happy 4 weeks, Vivi girl!  We love you to the moon and back.

Three weeks!

On Thursday our Viv will be three weeks old!  She adds so much to our family.  She’s been a really easy baby so far — she is nursing well and gaining great weight.  At her two week well child check she was up to 7 lb 2 oz!  No wonder I feel like most of the day is spent nursing :). She’s starting to have some quiet alert times during the day and Amelia loves to lay on the play mat with her.  

I feel so grateful to be a mama of twins — one of my very favorite roles in life — but it sure is fun to get to focus on one baby — I feel much more present and able to learn her rhythms and needs and personality. 

Scott has another week and a half of leave and I may cry when he goes back!  It’s been so lovely to have this time together to adjust and bond.

Here’s our Vivi girl ...

One week!

It’s exhausting to be one week old!

Here are a few sweet photos from our first week at home with our girl ...

Newborn photos!

My sweet friend offered to come to the hospital to capture our family of five together for the first time.  What a sweet gift that I will treasure forever.  

Vivian Ruth!

At 4:29 pm on 5/3/18 we got to meet our Vivian Ruth.  She weighed in at 6 lb 4 oz and was 19 inches long. What an incredible and redemptive birth story.  

We had a repeat c-section planned for May 7th but I woke up just after midnight on May 3rd and knew it would be the day we’d meet our girl.  I didn’t wake Scott up until around 4 because I didn’t want to keep him up all night.  We headed in around 5 am and I was super bummed to be only 2 cm after 5 hours of painful contractions.  But the contractions were close enough that they kept us there.  I was 4 cm at the next check (and ready for my epidural!).  I’d been worried about trying to have a VBAC but since things were progressing well we decided to not continue with the c-section but to try to labor instead.

I had the dream team of labor support.  I feel so grateful!  I had Scott and my mom with me all day.  I had a nurse who really advocated for me and a midwife who was so present and kind along with a midwife student.  I couldn’t have asked for better people around me.  I had a lot of fears about labor (since we’d spent both of my pregnancies trying everything we could to AVOID going into labor it was hard to relax into the process) so to have such encouraging support was a gift.

By 3 pm I was fully dilated and by 4:29 we were holding our girl.  The midwife asked me how I would feel about my mom catching the baby and the only thing I could say was, "YES!"  What an incredible thing to have your mama catch your daughter.  I love that we will tell Vivi that story for all of her life.

There were so many little things about the twins birth that I has wished had gone differently.  In the big picture, of course, they are healthy and thriving and I am so grateful.  But little things like getting to hold and see Vivi after her birth (instead of having to wait hours to see them while they were in NICU) were just so healing.

As Amelia said when she was seeing all the birth photos, "Mama, those are happy tears, huh?"  Yes they are, sweet girl.  Very happy tears.

Welcome, Vivi Ru!  We’ve been waiting for you, my love.

Our next adventure!

Well, our family of four is getting ready to become a family of five!  We are getting ready to welcome baby girl into our little family!  Vivian Ruth’s official due date is 5/13/18 (which happens to be Mother’s Day!) and we are in the thick of nesting!  This pregnancy has been a night and day different experience than with the twins.  I am so grateful that I’ve been able to continue working and parenting and mostly doing normal life.  It’s been a season of gratefulness and anticipation.  I feel like Scott and I aren’t just expecting a baby, our FAMILY is expecting a baby.  Luke and Amelia are so excited.  They frequently tell me things like, “Mom, you said there were 10 kids at the birthday party but you forgot Vivi!  There were 11 kids there!”  They read to her and sing to her and ask all sorts of questions about her.  It’s been a gift to prepare for her along with our big kids.  

I’m hoping to post more regularly to record her growth and milestones.  Since Luke and Amelia still don’t have finished baby books (oops!), I’m guessing the third born won’t either!  The blog has been a great way to remember the little daily moments we treasure with them.  I’m hoping to get some of Viv’s special moments recorded too!

We can’t wait to meet you, baby girl!