A variety of pictures...

These are random pictures from the week before Elise as born until yesterday. Just for your viewing pleasure :)

B's class went to the zoo -- his first field trip!

39 weeks

39 weeks

Building bottle rockets

First picture!

Brand new Elise...

He loves her

Long feet

Hospital picture taking

Daddy and his loves

B insisted on staying with me and walking downstairs to meet daddy and Andrew with the van.
He has such a tender heart!

Real life.

A little fun day for Andrew...

B's second field trip -- the pumpkin patch! I was so sad to miss.

One of my princes!

B and his BFF Averie.

Looooong girl.

Naptime snuggles

Cozy baby.

Alert baby.

matchy matchy!

Shark hat!

A sweet treat for Andrew -- I put money in this ride!

My heros!

She laughs and smiles a lot!

Big helper.

Silliness with the big guy...

Silliness with my little man...

Wingding!

Benjamin's school put on a Western themed fall festival -- and called it a "Wingding"! It was so much fun! We all dressed up in our Western gear and enjoyed an evening of playing games, eating chili, dunking teachers in the dunk tank, bull riding and bouncy house playing!

One week and such...

It's been one week {and one day} since Elise was born and made us a family of five.  I know it sounds silly, but I'm always amazed at how much love you have inside of you for more babies.  Seriously. I can't get enough of this girl -- and I can't get enough of the boys, either! I love the way God made us to love and enjoy our children!

The boys are doing great with this sweet girl and she has NO shortage of love or attention.  There is always someone willing to be in her face, or holding her, or giving her kisses.  It's a tough life she has, I tell you! But, again, God has extended great kindness to us.  We prayed so much for the boys and this transition.  It certainly hasn't been without bumps -- but they are tolerable bumps and God is gracious to give us what we need to get through each day.

Yesterday was my first day with all three.  There were some stressful moments in the afternoon and a few tears on my part -- but we made it and this is life now.  I prayed a lot at the end of my pregnancy for guidance in these days.  I felt so concerned about not being able to care for three children.  But God is so good and has given me so much with each new day.  And more than that, He has given me an incredible husband and the most wonderful friends.

It's much easier the third time to wake up and night and nurse, to be sitting on a couch most of the day, to move around a feeding schedule.  I don't stress out at the first utterance of a cry and feel more capable of daily chores and necessary "to-do's" than I did with Benjamin.  Life does indeed go on and you adjust as seems fit. Praise God for grace, though!

Elise had her newborn check up on Monday.  She weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces and measured 22 inches.  So, she regained her birth weight -- plus three ounces and apparently grew half an inch {but measuring tiny people is just so hit and miss}.  She loves to eat.  She loves to eat for as long as she can.  And she is still aggressive and efficient.  Elise is sleeping well and is starting to have more awake moments.  It's fun to see her eyes more and talk with her.  The boys enjoy when she lays on the floor so they can be near her. 

I just love tiny babies!!! Especially when they are mine ;) Here are a few pictures from the last week. I'm not in one of them, but I am present and necessary -- take heart! :)

Swaddled and sleeping.

Love her. They just love her.

Sleepy smiles.

Napping with daddy

Andrew getting to "hose her. hose Edie."

She has a well protected future.

4 or 5 days old, I think.

6 days old. Tummy time!

Baby jeggings!!!

Andrew talking away to Elise.

The boys enjoying her "looking" at them!

Goodbye, summertime...

I suppose, in all honesty, that summertime is not truly over in Oklahoma until mid October.  But there is always the hope that it will end abruptly and fall will actually occur for more than a week or so.  Either way, with school starting and life happening -- summertime things are nearly done.  

The weather was so mild this summer {minus a few random weeks} and we enjoyed a lot of outdoor play.  The blow up pool from Target was the best $26 I may have ever spent! In fact, we blew up the pool today and the boys played for an hour outside.  We went to the zoo several times -- with friends and just us.  Having a zoo pass allows us the fun of driving down to the zoo for an hour or so and not feeling like it wasn't worth it.  The zoo it always worth it for my boys.

We had lunch out once a week and enjoyed playing at parks and seeing friends and going on family dates.  We ate a decent amount of ice cream and watched movies and took walks.  We played inside and made forts and colored pictures and made crafts and went to the library.  We made treats and shared {some of} them.  We had friends over for dinner and went out to dinner {with and without friends}. 

This summer was just a lot of fun, really.   And I love that.

Mostly, though, I love that we enjoy being together -- just us.  

Our little family is so special and brings me such joy.  

And I love seeing how God has blessed us and grown us and challenged us and made Himself more known to us. 

Lucky us. 

In so many ways.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are pictures from the first time we blew up the pool.  It was such a nice day and it was after naps, so the boys were ready to go.  They loved every second and it was so fun to watch them play.  And Patrick and I laughed at them, a lot.  They are crazy boys.  They are adventurous and funny and full of joy and full of wild ideas.  I love that these boys, our boys, are ALL boy!

Here is a little glimpse into the boys I spend my days with:

B doing his chipmunk dance.

And so with September already here and this summer a sweet memory, I can't help but think of next summer.  Next summer we will have a big boy who will be going into kindergarden and be five and little boy who will be three and a baby girl who will be seven months old.  And life will be different and beautiful and a little chaotic, probably.  But it's all still so incredible to me.

So goodbye summer of 2013 -- you were a blast, but I guarantee we will make even better of  summer 2014.  Because we can and that's how we roll. :)