Home Sweet Home

I can't begin to describe how WONDERFUL it feels to be home today! It was the longest morning in history waiting for the doctors to come and give us the okay to leave. So...we killed time by taking a few going home pics...

I thought about Addie our entire drive home. I wondered if she would cry when she saw us, if I would cry when I saw her, if she would understand who Blake was, etc. And in all the scenarios in my head, I never imagined I would witness love at first sight...

Addie could not wait to touch her baby brother. She ran right to us on the couch and wrapped her little arms around him...

We all kept trying to call her name so that she would look at the camera but she couldn't take her eyes of Blake. She was totally and completely in love him.

At one point she even looked up at me like "is this my baby"?

She tried taking Blake off my lap (probably so she could go put him in her baby bed) but when I told her that he had to stay with mama, she just held his hand a little longer.

That of course only satisfied her a minute so we decided to let her hold Blake by herself.

She was so gentle and delicate with him and when we asked her to give him a kiss, she slowly rolled him to her and kissed him on the cheek. That is where the tears started flowing for me :)

Here she is watching to make sure no one took him from her just yet. We have the CUTEST video of this moment that I promise to post at some point. She was telling him about Howie and pointing to him on the floor. It was just precious.

So that is how our family of 3 became a family of 4 today. Addie is in love with her brother and I have a feeling that she is going to be the best big sister in the world. My heart is just bursting. This will certainly be the happiest New Year of our lives :-)

Happy New Years to all!!!

What? You Want to See More Pics of Blake?

Then you are in luck!!! Bella Baby Photography came today and they got some ADORABLE pictures. Here are my favorites...

I was a little worried that the pics from today were not going to turn out because Blake was starting to get hungry when the photographer was there. You can see him on the verge of tears in the family pic :-) But luckily, these photographers are experts and they still managed to get some really cute pictures. I especially love the ones in the little hat my mom knitted. That could seriously be the cover of a knitting book don't you think? Ha!

As you may have guessed, Addie did not come up to the hospital today. There were lots of reasons why we decided it was best to wait and one of those reasons was validated for me when I heard a little girl crying in the hallway because she didn't want to leave her mama. That would have just broken my heart!!! So at least when Addie meets Blake tomorrow...Mommy will be there and she won't be leaving any time soon :-) Yay!!! Can't wait to get home!!

Just What We Needed

If you hadn't noticed, I was a big ball of energy yesterday. I was a multi-tasker...talking, nursing, cuddling, healing, blogging, texting, facebooking and smiling all at the same time. I know this had a lot to do with my adrenaline and the fabulous cocktail of pain meds they had me on :-)

But today was a little different. I traded in my IV and a few other uncomfortable post-op necessities for a fantastic shower and the ability to move around my room without a million cords hanging from me. But with the IV went the great pain meds. Boo! And, poor Mr. Blake had to have an "adjustment" made to his man-parts so he wasn't the happiest camper either :-( I realized at that moment just what we both needed...

So that is how we spent a lot of our day today. Sleeping, nursing and cuddling. But in between those moments, we had a great visit from Auntie Tara...

Auntie Linsey...

And Uncle Joe (who brought me chocolates. YES!)

But now that we have had our fun for the day, it is time to get back to our rest. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be another action packed day with more visitors and a photo shoot. AND...word on the street is that they might allow siblings in the hospital this week because of the holidays and if that is the case (we have been told several conflicting stories today) then Addie may be able to come up and see Mr. Blake!!!! I would love to see her because I miss her SOOOOO much. But I need to decide if our teeny tiny hospital room is the best place for Addie to meet her brother for the first time. I guess Eric and I will decide that tomorrow.

So...before I go for the night...I just want to say THANK YOU once again for all of your sweet comments. My blog got over 2,000 hits yesterday and I think that is just amazing. Blake has no idea how popular he already is :-) 

Can't Get Enough

I'll tell ya what...I just can't get enough of this little guy...

Do you know the part in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" where the Grinch's heart triples in size and then bursts out of his chest? Well...I know what that feels like now. And so does Eric. We are so completely in love with this little guy we can hardly contain ourselves!

And we aren't alone. First, Grandma and Grandpa Mueller fell in love...

Then Grandma and Grandpa Davis fell in love...

Then Uncle Ryan...

Then Aunt Meagan...

Then Aunt Diana...

Then Uncle Adam...

And then Aunt Dana and Uncle Kevin fell in love over the phone. They are BOTH suffering from the flu today so they couldn't come up to see Blake in person. But with all the pics we have taken today, I am sure they feel like they are here in spirit :-)

So...I am sure you are all wondering how little Miss Addie is doing. She spent the day with both her Nanas and they said she has been an absolute angel. I asked her on the phone today if she was excited to meet Blake and she just said "Uh huh!". I am dying to get these two together...my two little peanuts :-) Only two more days to wait. But in the meantime, I am going to get some rest (hopefully) and snuggle with my little guy. Thank you all for your sweet comments!! More to come tomorrow. 

Happiest Momma in the World!!!

Hi friends!!!! I just wanted to hop on for one second to say that I am the HAPPIEST MOMMA IN THE WORLD!!!!

Look at this beautiful little man...

He is absolutely perfect!!! The c-section was a breeze this time around and I feel wonderful. I am just on cloud nine and I can't thank you all enough for your prayers and well wishes. I will do my best to upload a few more pictures later after Blake has his first bath :-)

Blake has arrived!

This is Gramma Jan and I have the distinct pleasure of announcing the birth of my beautiful new grandson Blake!!! He weighed 7lb 11 oz and is 20" long and is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! How can you fall in love with this little baby with one glance! Mommy and baby are doing well! We get to see Jen soon but Eric said she is doing great!

We are so blessed!

A Final Belly Pic Before the Big Day

I cannot BELIEVE this is my last belly shot! 39 weeks preggers. I swear it feels like yesterday I was breaking my pregnancy news to everyone and now I am only a DAY away from having Blake!!! Where did the time go?

This is by far my least flattering belly pic yet, but I am a day away from having a baby and lets get serious...I am no Giselle :-)

But if I've said it once I've said it a hundred times...meaty = healthy when it comes to babies. And I think it is safe to say that there is one meaty baby in there. Ha!

For weeks now, my mom and a few others have said that I look bigger in the belly this time around. I know that boys tend to be bigger and I do feel HUGE right now. But to be honest, I don't think my belly is much bigger than it was with Addie. I think it is just that I filled out all over the place with Addie (that's what sitting at a desk eating all day will do to you) and this time I seemed to have gained all my weight in the belly (that's what chasing a toddler all day long will do to you). So maybe that's it! But you can see for yourself. Here is my 39 week belly pic with Addie...

Since there is really no point in guessing when I will have Blake, maybe we could play a game of "Guess his weight"! I have added a poll to my right sidebar. And to help you make your decision, Addie was 6 pounds, 13 ounces when I had her at 39 weeks, 6 days. I will be having Blake at 39 weeks, 4 days so we are pretty close time wise. I guess only time will tell!!

So speaking of the big day, I am sure you are all wondering how and when you will find out about Blake's arrival. The good news is that I will have Internet access in the hospital so I will be sure to post at some point during my stay. But in the meantime, I have asked my mom to guest post so that she can share all the details when he arrives.

And that, my friends, will be the next time you hear from me! I have decided to take the day off from blogging tomorrow so that I can spend some quality time with Addie and Eric. I am going to miss my little peanut SO MUCH while I am in the hospital, but I know she is in excellent hands with her grandparents. Eric will also be taking time to come home and play with her so I'm not worried. Plus, this will give me some one-on-one time to bond with my new son. Gosh...that sounds so weird!!! My SON! Can you tell I am excited???!! I am also scared shitless...but luckily the excitement gets me through all that. All I can do at this point is hope and pray that Blake and I get through delivery safe and sound. Thanks to all of you who have already sent your well wishes for the big day. Your thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated :-) 

And on a parting note, I just want to thank you all so much for sharing this journey with me over the last nine months. It has been so much fun documenting all these exciting milestones. And the best part is...it is all just beginning!!! Stay tuned friends...Blake will be here shortly :-)

A Merry Christmas Indeed!

Let me just say...we had one EXCITING Christmas Day! No...Blake did not arrive, but there was a very happy baby surprise. But we will get to that later.

So here we are, Christmas morning. Addie wasn't out of bed two seconds and she knew right where to go...

An entire tree filled with gifts, and she heads for the one thing she has already seen...

Her dolly! Go figure :-)

Luckily, she sat dolly down long enough to open a few gifts.

And then when she was worn out, she stopped at her diner for some tea :-) It was SO CUTE watching her open gifts today. Too bad she wanted each individual item out of it's packaging before moving on to the next. That is why you see her tea set, Sugar doggie and a few other toys already out of their boxes. Ha!

And then from one spoiled household to another...we arrived at my in-law's bright and early for gifts and some delicious breakfast!

The girls couldn't even handle sitting in their highchairs with all the exciting gifts to open! Here is Daddy helping her try on her new princess backpack...

And here are Aunt Dana and Uncle Kevin opening some of their gifts...

And Nia Beanie smiling for the camera...

And Addie and Daddy playing around before we had to head home for naptime.

It is honestly a good thing that Addie took the long nap she did, because the excitement wasn't over yet. When we arrived at Eric's Aunt's house for dinner, a very special guest was their to greet all the kiddies!!!

I wasn't sure if Addie would go to Santa (especially after our mall incident) but I guess she couldn't resist another gift...

Or some more candy...

In fact ALL the kids managed to warm up to Santa and they even let us get close enough to take this picture...

It was a GREAT idea to contact Santa for an extra visit Aunt Dana. Way to go :-)

So...on to the baby surprise I was talking about earlier. See this little girl? That is Miss Audrey and she became a BIG SISTER TODAY!!!

Eric's cousin Katie (who was due the same day as me) woke up to a little Christmas surprise this morning...her water breaking!! She went to the hospital at 5:00 this morning and her little man arrived at 3:30 p.m. We have not had the chance to see him yet in person, but we do have the info. They named him Cole Christopher and he weighed in at 10 POUNDS, 1 OUNCE and was 23 INCHES LONG!!!!! And yes...she had him naturally and only pushed about 15 minutes. Katie is my hero :-)

So there you go...a little recap of our exciting day. It was a Merry Christmas indeed :-)