Happy (belated) Birthday, Daddy Bear!!

In the busy-ness of getting ready for Baby Sister's birth, I failed to post pictures from Daddy Bear's 31st birthday celebration, so I'll do so now--out of order.

Now I'm normally really big on doing up birthdays and making them super special, but we had to do things pretty simply this year since I had become a little less energetic the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, but we still celebrated with all we had and had a great time!

We went shopping together the weekend before and let Daddy Bear pick out a tool chest to organize his tools in the garage for his main gift. Then we came up with a few other little surprise packages for him to open and cards from each of us--Little Bear picked his out himself.

Little Bear was a big help opening presents.

We ate out for Thai food, one of Daddy Bear's favorites,

and then enjoyed a delicious fruit pizza birthday cake, made by Mama Bear and Little Bear that morning.

We'll see if I am able to keep up with our family birthdays next year...I have Daddy Bear and Baby Sister at the end of May, then Little Bear at the beginning of June. Whew! I see lots of spring/summer partying in our future!

"Baby Sister" is HERE!!

At long last...May 23 @ 8:28 p.m. Baby Sister is here!!! We are officially a family of four and loving every minute! I started laboring Monday afternoon and by Monday evening, Baby Sister had arrived! 6 pounds, 11.5 ounces. 19 1/2 inches long. (THE SAME AS LITTLE BEAR!!!)

Thankfully, Baby Sister was facing the right way when I went into labor and it was night and day compared to my BACK labor with Little Bear (38 hours)!!

Within 22 hours of arriving, we were checked out of the hospital and headed home!

It was a pretty big whirlwind and kind of hard to believe it all happened so quickly. Little Bear had caught a cold so he was not able to come visit us at the hospital but had a great time playing at home with Grandma Bear.

When we arrived home with his precious "Baby Sister," he was THRILLED! He had so been longing to meet her. For weeks he has talked to her and patted her and asked questions about her. He was not disappointed. He loved her!

He has had a little bit of trouble adjusting to her time with us at home this week, but mainly due to the cold he is suffering. He is, of course, extra needy and we, of course, extra busy. He is fairing pretty well though and I am optimistic that he will do even better in the weeks to come!

It's amazing to us how much Baby Sister looks like Little Bear's baby pictures!

Here's just one example--

Little Bear:

Baby Sister:

Maybe you can't see the resemblance but a few times when I was delirious in the hospital I called her "he" flashing back to our many days at the hospital with LB. I know it sounds terrible to call your brand new daughter a "he" but in my defense they were wearing the same little hospital beanie and white shirt, swaddled up like little papooses. I decided to put the bow on the beanie as my subtle reminder.

Now that we are out of the hospital and home things have had a chance to sink in and there is no mistaking it! I am the mom to TWO beautiful babies--a boy AND a girl--and reminder bows will no longer be necessary. :) Just fun!!

Snoozing away

Enjoying her swing

As far as postpartums can go, mine hasn't been the most pleasant. I have found that a whirlwind, med-free delivery doesn't necessarily lead to a pain-free, med-free post delivery. I could use a few prayers for my quick recovery and healing so that I can properly care for this family that I so love. When I am tempted to get frustrated with my immobility I am quickly reminded of the NUMEROUS blessings from this week and this life. All Glory to God! I hope and pray that your Memorial Weekend is as blessed as we feel!

Can I have s'more?

We brought out the fire pit again only this time we used it to roast hot dogs, bratwursts, and mallows!!

Little Bear helped me prepare the s'more supplies...

...while Daddy Bear roasted the mallows to perfection!

Mmmmmmmm....

Strollers and Ferry Boats

I have searched far and wide, high and low, for the perfect double stroller to welcome "Baby Sister" to our family with but have struggled to make a decision I felt at peace with. I finally made up my mind on one but we were going to have to drive 45 minutes away to pick it up. We decided to make an adventure out of it and headed out early on a Saturday morning. After getting the stroller, we were so close to the Puget Sound that we decided to drive over to the ferry boats and float into Seattle. Somehow I have never been on a ferry boat so I was just as excited as Little Bear. Of course, seasoned Daddy Bear has been on many a ferry boat but never one into Seattle so we all enjoyed the new experience together.

Little Bear still talks about "See-sattle" and the "Pace Needle."

Does Washington Have Rainbows?

Ever since we arrived in the Northwest, Little Bear has been looking for rainbows. I'm not really sure why, except that he knows rainbows come with rain and it DOES rain a lot here. I told him one day when he was hoping to see one that I guess they don't have rainbows in Washington. Well, did God ever make a liar out of me! This beautiful rainbow peaked out after a long day of rain right in front of our house! I have never been so close to the pot o' gold! It was unbroken, vibrant, and DOUBLE!! I have always known the science behind rainbows but this night I could only look in awe at the miraculous sign that it is. Thank you God for your promises!!

(You can't see the full rainbow because I couldn't back up far enough with my camera to get it all in. That's how close it was to us!! So cool!)

Late Easter update

First of all, I can't believe it's already been a month and a half since we moved up here! We are really settling in well and enjoying our new home. All the boxes are unpacked and we only lack decorations in a few rooms until we are completely moved in!! House pictures will come soon, I promise!!

Easter weekend was so relaxing and wonderful!

On Saturday morning we dyed eggs

and made an Easter cake (a new tradition we decided to start).

Little Bear LOVED both activities!

Then we took advantage of the GORGEOUS 70 degree day and played out front in our sweet little neighborhood.

We also decided to start another tradition in our family for Easter Vigil night (Saturday before Easter Sunday) and we got out our "Resurrection Eggs" and an Easter story to talk about the meaning of Easter BEFORE it got lost in all the egg hunting and Easter basket excitement on Sunday morning. LB was in awe of the Resurrection Eggs and talking about the Easter story. In case the Resurrection Eggs are new to you, in each egg is a symbol that represents some part of Christ's death, resurrection, and the events that led up to it (i.e. donkey, wine goblet, crown of thorns, burial cloth, stone, etc.). He wanted to "talk about Easter with the Res-ection Eggs" for DAYS. So neat!!

On Sunday we went to Mass and had Easter baskets and egg hunts. Little Bear had been waiting for DAYS, maybe even WEEKS, to hunt and play with Easter eggs so he was ecstatic!

The chocolates weren't so bad either. (In case you're wondering, the second basket is not for LB...it was a "family" basket that Mama Bear and Daddy Bear got to enjoy treats from).

That evening we built a fire in our backyard (with wood from...our backyard!!!) and counted our blessings while we watched the sunset on this beautiful Easter night.