Welcome to the Family!

It has already been a month and a half since we welcomed our sweet Hazel Caroline, so this post is a little late, but it is what it is.  I keep reminding myself, as I soak up every quiet minute I can with her and as many snuggles as I can get, that there will be a day all to soon when my house is clean again and my life feels more organized.  There will be a day soon enough to finally get to the decorating, and blogging, and my list of projects, but for now this is exactly where I want to be enjoying this season of my life, crazy as it may sometimes feel.

Hazel arrived a week before her due date which was somewhat of a surprise for us as none of the others were early, but we were ready and anxious to meet her.  Wednesday morning I was beginning to have early signs of labor and more contractions but the day was uneventful.  I made some lasagna with my mom to freeze for after her arrival, took Sadie to AWANA's, and even had a couple of friends over while she was in AWANA's. (Reminded me of having small group over while my labor progressed with Sadie)  Anyway, I woke up around 11 with more consistent contractions and called my mom so that she could be here when we were ready to leave.  We left sometime around midnight and drove the 45 minutes to our hospital, which seemed like a LONG way considering we were only 5 minutes from the hospital in Glendora.  Anyway, we checked in and to my great dismay I was not nearly as far along as I thought I was.  I think I was just anxious to be at the hospital because of the long drive.  So, at this point I began to imagine that I was going to have to drive all the way back home only to then deliver her in the car on our return trip.  Luckily, they told me they wanted me to walk around the hospital for an hour and when they checked me again said I was progressing and that they would admit me.

All in all the delivery was smooth and Hazel arrived at 4:57am weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces and measuring 19 1/4 inches long.

Welcome Sweet One

Some of my favorite moments are the first ones, before everyone arrives to welcome and celebrate, and before it all feels real.  We've learned to just soak it up as its so fleeting and this time around I realized we didn't even get the camera out.  We just enjoyed it and tried to lock it away in our memories.  It's amazing how it always feel new and and so incredible to meet the one you've been waiting for and imagining.  I guess that's just a tiny part of the miracle of new life.

The kids arrived after breakfast to meet their new sister and were so excited!!!  Sadie and Wyatt were anxious to hold her and talk to her and kiss her.  Brandon tried to explain to Cooper that Hazel was out of Mommy's tummy and I think that was more than his little brain could handle because he decided after an initial moment of curiosity that he was going to ignore her for the time being.  However, by the time they headed home with Grammy he was willing to say goodbye and give her a kiss, and by the time we brought her home he was anxious to hold her too.  My favorite is when he asks if he can say hi to her, which simply means standing close to her and saying, "Hi Hazel, Hi Hazel, Hi Hazelnutty" over and over again.  Sadie is a great big sister, already good at calming her down and holding her.  She loves it when I tell her which outfits were hers when she was a baby and stories about what I remember about her when she was little.  Wyatt, well he continues to be such a tender heart.  He adores her and he seemed not so much excited or proud to hold her as just so sweetly in love with her.  In those first moments he didn't look around to show everyone he was holding the baby but just gazed at her commenting on her little eyes and nose.

 Uncle Robert

 Grammy

Our 1st Family Photo

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