Great Grandma Comes to Visit

We were blessed to have my Grandma Ellen visit us this past week. It was so great having her here with us every day. Here she is meeting her third great grandchild!

Gram read and read and read to the boys. They loved sitting with her. Alex would have her read the same book again and again. Gram would just laugh and start all over. Brady also loved being read to. Gram was such a trooper. Brady has been really into making tents on his bunk bed and playing in them. Gram even spent time in the tent - too bad I didn't get a picture!

Gram with her great grandchildren. So special to have her here with us.

Anna's first bath at home

I must say, this little lady is not a fan of bath time. This first picture was the beginning. Not yet wet...just getting ready. She was wide awake.

This was once we got started and the tears kept flowing until we were done and she was cozy, warm, and eating again.

Fun at Home

Anna's first week at home was a busy one. We started off the week with a visit from Aunt Jen and Uncle Jerry. It was great having them here. The boys were especially excited to have them around for the weekend. Here they are meeting their new niece Anna for the first time!

Like her big brothers, Anna loves her swing. She sleeps best here too. Anna was enjoying a little snuggle time with Grandpa when Alex decided he needed in on the action too.

We had a great visit with the Berges this past week as well. Proud big brothers Luke and Brady were thrilled to hold each others baby sisters.

Mattea and Anna. Crazy to think that Mattea was this little not so very long ago!

Snoozin'

Brady and Alex have been doing really well adjusting to having a baby sister in the house. They are playing together more and more each day and amazingly enough, there are not always tears!

Heading Home!

On Friday, March 25 we were discharged from the hospital. Anna is such a peanut in her car seat! Here she is all ready to head home!

Waiting for daddy and the boys to pick us up. Arriving at home for the first time. It is good to be home!

More Hospital Pictures

I am finally getting around to blogging a bit more. Our hospital stay was a lengthy one. Anna was having a hard time keeping her milk down and therefore was not having wet/messy diapers. This was cause for great concern so we were kept longer than we expected. After running lots of tests and waiting several days, all was good and we were discharged to go home. Praise God! These are a few more pictures from the hospital.

Andy was having fun with this cute little bunny that we were given at the hospital - it was bigger than Anna!

Anna meets Ellen and Charles! Daddy got to feed her her first bottle. Anna got a day of sun tanning in the hospital thanks for a bit of jaundice. Poor thing... Alex, our little climber, wanted to see his baby sister but he just wasn't quite tall enough.

Brady LOVES holding his little sister.

Hanging out with daddy

Kisses from Alex

Meeting the family

Yesterday afternoon my parents brought the boys to come meet their new baby sister. Brady came in with a huge grin on his face, stripped off his coat, climbed up on the bed and was ready to hold her. Alex...didn't really know what was going on. He was more interested in running around playing. Here are the boys meeting Anna for the first time.

I LOVE this picture. Brady is such a proud and concerned big brother. He has had lots of questions about Anna and is always looking out for her. What a sweetie!
Alex is a studier. He looks at Anna and is rather quiet, like he is trying to figure this all out. He points and says "baby!" He also likes pointing to her facial features and calling out their names. Nose! Ears! It's adorable.

Here is our first family photo. The boys were silly, no one would look at the camera. That's just gonna be the way it is for a while I think...

Anna gets to meet Grandma Schwartzhoff

Meeting my mom and dad. They have been a fantastic blessing to us this week. My parents have been staying with the boys and bringing them to visit. We are so thankful that they are here to help us during this time and grateful for all their support.

Anna's Birth

Our little Anna was due on March 16. On Monday, March 21 we were headed into the clinic for an ultrasound to see how she was doing and make a decision about what to do next. My ultrasound showed that my suspicion was correct, I had been leaking amniotic fluid. My midwife and a consulting doctor decided, it was time to have a baby!

We headed home, grabbed our bags and checked into the hospital around noon. After running a few tests and getting settled, I received my first dose of induction meds at 1:30pm and a second dose at 5:30pm. Both were intended to help soften my cervix and help me begin to dilate. At 10pm we began Pitocin. By midnight my contractions were really beginning to be painful. I moved around a lot - spent time in the tub, on an exercise ball, on my hands and knees, and even trying to "rest" in bed. Being that it was the middle of the night I was exhausted. At 4:47am Anna was born after only 3 pushes. Amazing to me compared to my boys births!

I was amazed at her size. Anna is over a pound smaller than Brady was and two pounds smaller than Alex! Crazy. I fully expected that she would be more like Brady's size. She cried fairly quickly and was given to me right away. A precious time to have your baby right in your arms. She was very alert and eager to look around at the world. This photo was taken just a few mintues after she was born.

Here is our sweet baby girl within her first hour of birth. She was very curious about all that was around her. She was fairly quite as she just looked around and took it all in.
Daddy getting to hold Anna for the first time.

Our exhausted, but happy family.

Anna, post bath. The sleepiness was just starting to settle in. She is perfect!

Welcome Baby Anna!

On Tuesday, March 22, 2011 we welcomed Anna Ellen into our family. She was born at 4:47am weighing 6lbs. 9oz. and measuring 20 inches long.

She is a sweetheart and we are so glad that she is finally here!

40 weeks

Wednesday, March 16 marked 40 weeks and my due date for this baby girl. The day came and went with no sign of her arrival. We are still anxiously waiting three days later. Hopefully it will be soon. We can't wait to meet her!

Brady-a-saurus

Brady was one excited little boy to be studying dinosaurs at school over the past several weeks. He got to make fossils, color and paint pictures of dinosaurs, and even make his own Brady-a-saurus hat. The dino toys have made a come-back at home and he loves wearing his hat while running around roaring like a T-Rex!