New tricks

Owen discovered the "splits" tonight...He was quite excited about his little trick.

And Lilly was busy watching the mobile today.

In Action...

Lilly has been becoming more alert this week. She is staying awake more, enjoying looking around, excercising her arms and legs, and starting to experiment with her little voice.

Owen is never ending energy. He leaves a trail wherever he goes. He also loves to be my little helper. Whatever mommy is doing, he wants to do too. This morning while he was eating breakfast, I started unwrapping caramels to make some turtles. All of a sudden, eating oatmeal lost its appeal. As soon as he was finished, Owen hopped up on my chair to help mommy with her task. At first he just wanted to eat them, but then he got the hang of it quite well. He probably ended up unwrapping almost half the bag for me.

Yesterday at lunch, Jimmy spotted a cardinal out our kitchen window. Owen watched and watched it until it flew away. When the bird flew away, Owen turned around at asked for "more."

Oh, and by the way, I've graduated....

from "mama" to "mommee."

Looking their Sunday best

After several attempts over the past 3 weeks, we still haven't been able to get that "really good" brother-sister picture. But the kiddos looked so cute in their green corduroy outfits today that I wanted to give it another try. Here's today's attempts:

Owen was more ready for a nap than to take pictures. So we laid him down and got a few pictures of Lilly Grace. Isn't she so sweet?!?

Pre-Christmas fun

While I was wrapping the last couple gifts this weekend, Owen went in the other room--only to come out a minute later victoriously waving the end of a roll of wrapping paper behind him. He had a ball playing with his findings and it kept him occupied long enough for me to finish my wrapping.

Sweet baby of mine

Lillian Grace is already 2 weeks old...hard to believe.

Last week at her 1 week check up she had surpassed her birth weight and weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz---she's a beautiful healthy growing girl! Can't imagine life without her!

Daddy's Helper

We bought a new stove a couple weeks ago, and Jimmy had to convert it over from natural gas to LP. Owen was more than excited to help out with the job. They were quite the team!

Thank you, Mom/Grandma!

Last week, Mom came down for several days to help us with the transition from one to two. She was such a wonderful help....playing with Owen while I fed Lilly, cuddling with Lilly while I spent time with Owen, making meals, keeping the house clean, keeping me company, and so much more! Thanks for all your help, Mom!

Here's a few shots from the week:

Since Saturday...

if you were to stop by our house, this is what you would find Owen occupied by:

He LOVES the barn and animal set he received at the Hankins Family Christmas this weekend.

THANK YOU GREAT GRANDMA HANKINS!

Pretty Little Lilly, Proud Big Owen

Our first 24 hours at home as a family of four has been more smooth than I could have asked for. For starters, a good nights sleep!! Lilly was amazing last night! She finished nursing around 11:30 pm, and didn't wake up to eat again until 6:15 am. Like I said, AMAZING!! Our morning was spent just being together as a family, taking turn playing with Owen and cuddling with Lilly. They are both just so precious! We are definitely blessed!

Here's a few pictures of our little ones. And, the best part is, I didn't even stage the ones of the two of them! Owen wanted up on the couch, so I helped him up. He sat there with me while we talked and he ate his raisins. Every once in a while, he'd reach over to give his baby sis a hug or kiss.

At the Hospital

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

Proud Big Brother

Cousins

Meet Lillian Grace

Lilly arrived at 10:44 am Monday, November 29th! She weighed 8 lbs 8 1/4 oz. She's 20 1/2 inches long. She's absolutely PRECIOUS!!

The cliff notes of labor:

My water broke at 5 am with a "POP!" (Thankfully, after a good night's sleep!)

We arrived at the hospital at 8:15. I was dialated to 7.

Before 9:00, I was between an 8 and 9.

At 9:30, a nurse had me start pushing---but we weren't making progress, so I took a break and worked through a few contractions.

At 10:15ish, I started pushing again.

She arrived healthy at 10:44!!