June in Instagram

The biggest event this month was obviously the birth of our sweet Hazel Grace - but we also celebrated Sawyer's 4th Birthday, Father's Day, the last day of Preschool, etc...and had lots of fun in our day to day along the way. We are still waiting for summer to hit in full force, but June was a good month - certainly one to celebrate!

Sweet and Simple

My babies aren't fans of swaddling...and neither am I (can you blame them? it's almost like putting them in a straight jacket after they've been in tight enough quarters for months...it's no wonder they just want to flail their arms and be free!) nonetheless, after they are all fresh from a bath, I like to keep them naked and wrap them up as they fall asleep in my arms. And then I just kiss them, smell them, and snuggle them as long as I can :) 


Thanks for endulging me on my overload of newborn pictures. It was fun to capture a bit of our newborn Hazel. I know that I will love looking back on this special time when she was so tiny and life was so sweet and simple.

Baby in a Bowl

I really should have put some fruit in this bowl so you could see the size in relation to our little Hazel. It's a pretty small bowl - for a pretty small girl. Since it's curvy I thought it would be fun to see if she fit semi-comfortably...and she did, as long as I had my super fluffy throw blanket handy :) Either she was comfortable enough, or her dreams were sweet enough, that she even gave me a little smile :) Love this girl!

Little Flower

Okay, I suppose it's time for image overload. Stop right now if you've had enough :)  I am going to post the pictures I took of Hazel on Sunday - you could call them her "official" newborn photos. She was two weeks old. She was more than a good sport as she napped and her Mommy arranged her cute naked little body in various ways and the shutter went "snap snap snap" in her face. I could take so many more...but these will do. 


In this series, I put one of the little felt flowers I made for her in her hair. With her tan skin and dark hair, she could almost pass as polynesian. Or not? Maybe she'll be the lucky one to finally keep the dark hair :) Time will tell!


Oh, and according to our Pediatrician, she has incredibly long eyelashes for a newborn. Just like her sister did! People keep asking who she looks like. I think she's a pretty great blend between how her brother and sister looked as newborns - but really, she just looks like herself :)

Bright Eyes

I'm finding it hard to believe that little miss Hazel Grace is already two weeks old! She and her big brother got to share their doctor appointment this morning - she had her two week check up and Sawyer had his four year check up. Who ever would've guessed that before our first baby had his fourth birthday he would have two little sisters? He loves them both to pieces! Anyway...two weeks old! Hazel was barely over 5lbs when we checked out of the birth center...and two weeks later she has gained over a pound! She was 6lbs 4oz at her check up. Our babies tend to start out tiny but give them a couple of months and they are rollin' in the baby chub! I LOVE me a roly-poly-fat baby! 


People keep asking if all of our kids were that dark when they were born - as in, super dark hair and quite tan looking skin. Yes! I know, it's kind of crazy, but they all started out with almost black hair! Somehow it just keeps getting lighter. And the skin? I like to think it's the pretty olive that comes from the bit of Italian heritage :) Anyway, Hazel has these HUGE eyes. I like to call her "bright eyes" as she looks around at the world that is still so new to her. I love how she studies her brother and sister, and how every night without fail she wakes up in time for story time and prayers (with a little Simon Says and hallway gymnastics) and she helps tuck her siblings in - they LOVE when she comes over, in my arms, to say goodnight and give them a fish kiss (she often tries to start sucking on their cheeks when she gives them their kiss :)


Okay, so now I'm rambling. I finally got around to taking a few pics of our new little lady on Sunday when everyone was at church. I'm hoping to get her little birth announcement all designed and ordered this week, so I wanted to get a few pics. I will post some of those, shortly. In the meantime, I really like how the ones above show her bright eyes - those were taken on Saturday, just as she hit the two week mark. The two below, I took when she was just one day old. When people hire me to do newborn photos I tell them my preference is the first ten days. So I got just a couple when she was one day old, and the rest I got at two weeks, since it's kind of hard to do an actual newborn session when you're the mom of three who's recovering, adjusting, and has two other little ones running around wanting to "help". But I did get a few :) Crazy how fast these tiny little ones change and grow right before your very eyes. It's hard to tell just how TINY she is, since these are portraits, but believe you me, she is a TINY one! So petite! And so sweet :)

Sisters

One morning while Sawyer was at Preschool, I had about 30 minutes and decided to try and take a few pictures of the girls together. As I went through them, oh my goodness sakes, what a treasure they are to me! My girls! Aspen is so in love with Hazel, it melts my heart. She wants to hold her, cuddle her, kiss her, and see her any time she has the chance. She is still little, though, to trust with her, so I am always at her side (or the other way around?) with our baby Hazel. One way we decided she could safely hold the baby herself is on her legs. So, that's where I put her and hoped to grab a few images to remember these days when our girls are still so new to each other. It always makes me smile to hear Aspen start singing to her sister. It's almost like she's a little doll - but Aspen does understand she's even better than any doll. She's her sister...

And OH Brother - we can't forget our Big Brother! When I picked Sawyer up and he came home and saw what I had been doing, he decided for once to let me take a picture of him with his new baby sister (he is not fond of my papparazzi ways). He gave me about 30 seconds and I at least got one good one. He has been oh so gentle and sweet with Hazel. Aspen, of course, is his best friend. What lucky girls to have a big brother like Sawyer!

Maybe one day soon I'll get around to actually taking some newborn pics of our sweet Hazel. In the meantime, I'm so glad I got these - now, which one do I frame? 

Thanks, Grammie!

A few days after Hazel was born, my mom came to stay and help out for a few days. She arrived super late the night before Sawyer's Birthday, so he was really excited to wake up on his birthday and have a special visitor there to celebrate with us. In all honesty, I am not very good at accepting help, so I give my mom a ton of credit for coming to help, even though she knows I'm stubborn and hard-headed :) She even gifted our tiny baby some preemie-sized diapers and pajamas - things we didn't know we'd need but definitely came in handy with our little babe. She was barely over 5lbs when we left the hospital - soooo tiny, but healthy as can be. Mostly though, Grammmie helped entertain the kids, which was a huge help, and a joy to them as well. Candyland, tea parties, legos, the Dino-encyclopedia, and floor puzzles. Thanks, Grammie - for the fun times had with Sawyer and Aspen, and for making me sit down and forcing me to take a nap...and for cleaning our oven, even! We love you and appreciate the love and service you are always willing to give!

One Week Old!

As of Friday night, Hazel was one whole week old! I love the feeling that a new baby brings - Hazel is so fresh to our world, and our family, yet it feels like she's been with us forever, and now we can't imagine our world without her. 

We lucked out with gorgeous weather on that day, so to celebrate (and get out of the house! woo hoo!) we packed up the kids, and Grammie and I took them all to the beach for a picnic lunch and some fun in the sand and on the playground.

Admittedly not looking my best ever, but hey, I don't really care - I just had a baby and in general I fail to care much about things like hair and makeup - especially when I can take in the beauty of my surroundings. I'll give myself a couple of frumpy-ish weeks before I start worrying about those girlish things again :)

Beach Baby!

Grammie got to see one of the reasons why I LOVE Seattle - such pretty beaches! And so many soooo close to our house! Gotta live it up while we can!

Happy One Week Birthday, Hazel! 

We sure love having you with us!

Sawyer Turns FOUR!

One week ago, Sawyer turned FOUR!

We knew we might have a new baby, or else be super close to my due date, so we elected to keep his actual birthday quite simple. I asked him what he wanted - and more than anything else, he wanted a cake with a big T-rex on top! Having had Hazel 4 days prior, I elected to do a cake from a box this year - and let him pick out what flavor and what kind of frosting etc. He was really excited about it! It may not be my prettiest cake ever, but it sure was a ROARing hit with our birthday boy!

He was really excited that for his birthday he got to bring a treat to school. Daddy stayed up really late the night before making dinosaur sugar cookies for his class to devour. He got a surprise phone call from his buddy, Max - I think it's the first time anyone has called just for Sawyer. A friend from church also called to wish him a Happy Birthday (thanks, Rob Noll!) It always warms my heart to know there are other people in the world who are thoughtful and loving towards my children. At home, we pretty much had cake and ice-cream, and presents, of course. Sawyer was really excited to wake up and find that Grammie had arrived very late the previous evening, too!

Sawyer had told me for a long time that he really wanted our new baby sister to be born on his birthday, so she could wear a big bow and be his special present. I think he was genuinely a bit disappointed he didn't get to share his birthday with her. What a sweet big brother! He informed me a few days ago that the NEXT baby would maybe get to share his birthday. Hmm...

We planned his party for this coming weekend...crossing our fingers for decent weather. He said this morning, "isn't my birthday usually summertime?" I had to laugh. We've had our fair share of gray JUNE-uary days. Every now and then we get a wiff of summer, but it hasn't hit yet in full force. 

He's REALLY excited about his little Dinosaur Birthday Party in the Park. Please do a little sunshine dance for us so it doesn't get rained on! More to come about our handsome birthday boy! Who would've guessed we'd be so lucky that before the boy turned four we'd have three beautiful children? We are so blessed!

First Day at Home

The first day Hazel had at home was a Sunday.

Jacob took the kids to church, and we got to snuggle and nap all morning long in a very quiet house. It was heavenly!

When they got home, and after family nap time, we made Hazel's birthday cake. The kids directed what color of frosting, and insisted on some sprinkles on top. They were SO excited to finally celebrate her birthday (although Sawyer did admit he really wanted her to be born on HIS birthday - she came just 4 days before!)

We even made a little banner for her, and hung it on her crib.

I had to show this picture - here she is, one day old, with the teddy bear her brother and sister gave her on her birthday. It's bigger than she is! (and, Erin Perry if you happen to read this - I totally want to try out your idea of baby + bear compare!) I actually stole one of Aspen's baby doll onesies - preemie size - and added some ribbon to dress it up. The poor baby is so tiny that she swims in newborn sized clothes! So I was happy at least this one fit :)

Once we were ready to celebrate, we decided it would be fun to give our baby her first bath at home. The kids were SO excited, since we had previously practiced for this big event.

She didn't mind the water, in fact, I think she kinda liked it - but she did NOT like when she had to get out of the water!

Once we got her dry and dressed, she was good to go (to sleep, of course!) A few snuggles and kisses from her big sister made her day. To be honest, so far the hardest part of having three is just keeping the tiny babe safe from her over-loving big sister. She loves her so much but because she is the size of a doll, and kind of looks like one, she doesn't quite understand exactly how gentle she must be. It's heartwarming and sweet, nonetheless, and big brother does an excellent job of being soft and gentle with our baby.

Now that Aspen is a big sister, doesn't she just look BIG all of a sudden? So Big!

We are loving having a baby in our home! I know it's been only a week, but I've been surprised how great the kids are doing. They are nothing but loving and excited about their sister, and so far the transition feels incredibly natural. Much more peaceful than crazy...so far :)