Caroline's First Week Home

Enjoying our first Donut Saturday as a family of 4
Cutie Patootie

I love my Grammy!

Snuggling with Daddy after my first bath time

One of mommy's Young Life girls, Kelly Kotara, came to meet and snuggle with me for the first time

Sweet kisses from my Big Sister

Is it too early to get a babysitting contract on these 2 girls?

Daddy's Little Girls

Playtime with Sissy

Best seat in the house...waiting for the Homecoming Parade to start

Tivy Fight Never Dies...enjoying the Homecoming Bonfire with my Daddy

Ashley is all smiles holding her new baby cousin for the first time

Cousins make the best friends!

Well it's been about a week now since we first returned home from the hospital as a family of 4 and i have to say, so far the transition has been pretty smooth. Of course the only reason I can make that statement is because we have had tremendous help from Grammy as well as some very dear friends. My mom (aka Grammy) was sweet to stay with us for a week and help out around the house. From cooking to cleaning to running errands and keeping Abigail entertained, she did it all with a smile on her face. I can't imagine what we would have done without her. As if that wasn't enough she is now entertaining Abigail at Camp Grammy for the next few days so that Caroline and I can continue to adjust and work on somewhat of a routine while Josh returns to work. Thank you Grammy from the bottom of our hearts for all of the extra TLC you have given us over the past few weeks.

Caroline's first week home has been pretty low-key. For the most part our days and nights consist of a repetitive cycle of sleeping, eating, pooping, and playing. If we're lucky we may throw a shower into the mix for mommy, but unfortunately that hasn't made it quite into the "daily" routine of things. Considering Abigail is on the brink of entering into the Terrible Two's, she has done pretty well adjusting to her new role as Big Sister. That's not to say we haven't seen an increase in attempts at acting out...believe me, we have found ourselves repeating things twice as often to Abigail lately than we ever have had to before. Then again, what do you expect when you're asking your little princess to move over and share the stage with the new princess in town? For the most part Abigail continues to be Miss Independent when it comes to playtime but every now and then you can catch her drifting over to wherever "Sissy" is and attempting to play with her. The first words out of her mouth in the morning have quickly become "Where's Sissy?" and the last words out of her mouth in the evening are now "Night Night Sissy". Although I'm sure we have a looonnngg way to go before these two are the best of friends, it warms my heart to see the relationship already developing. Coming from a mom who has only known what it's like to grow up with older brothers, I'm looking forward to discovering and experiencing first-hand what the special bond of sisters is truly all about.

Seeing as how my range of activity is limited due to the fact I can only pick up something equivalent in size to Caroline and I'm at the mercy of others when it comes to driving, there have been a few moments in the past week where I have found myself going a little stir crazy. Thankfully though, with the help of my hubby, we have managed to break free from 108 Ivy Lane and attempt a few family outings. Our first official family outing was to Donut Palace. It has become tradition since Abigail was born to hit up Donut Palace every Saturday morning together as a family. Although we never made it actually out of the car on this particular outing (we cheated and elected to go with the drive-thru option) it was refreshing nevertheless to just get out of the house. Our next outing was the Homecoming Parade and Bonfire on Thursday night. We met up with some friends and enjoyed a nice pizza picnic while taking in the sights and sounds of the 2010 Tivy Homecoming Parade. Caroline of course managed to sleep through the entire thing. To this day, it still amazes me how babies can practically sleep through anything regardless of how loud or crowded a particular place really is. Abigail had a blast getting out and spending time with her friends. She especially loved the parade. Our final outing was to the actual Homecoming football game on Friday night. Our main purpose in going was actually to catch the pre-game Homecoming festivities. Quite a few of our Young Life kids were nominated for Homecoming King and Queen and we wanted to be there to support them. Not feeling up to the challenge of keeping up with a 22 month old and a 1 week old during the actual game, we left shortly after the announcement and crowning of this year's King and Queen.

All in all, it's been a great first week home with Caroline. Sure there's been moments of utter exhaustion but all it takes is one glance at the 2 most adorable and precious gifts God has ever given Josh and me, and the exhaustion just seems to fade away.