Weeks 4 and 5

So, we have a new family member! Matilda Ann was born just over 2 weeks ago on January 20th at 1:19 P.M., out-measuring her big sis by almost a whole pound and an entire inch! Little miss was 10 lbs 1 oz and 22 inches of delicious perfection. See??

Brad and I had some very sweet first moments with her, just letting her know how loved and cherished she was.

Can you tell we were smitten from the first second?

Then, is there anything that can fill your heart with more love and joy than seeing your first-born little love of of your life become a big sister? I don't think there is. Check out some of these sisterly moments from the first week of Tilly's life. It doesn't get much better than this.

Since we've been home, we've had first naps...

First baths...

First special deliveries...

And first visits from friends...

Two other big things worth mentioning from the past 2 weeks:

First, Nora had her last day at Ms. Tracy's-- the day care where she has been since she was just 4 months old. Her last day there was our first day at home as a family. We stopped by to pick her up on our way home from the hospital and at the same time said a sad "see ya later" to Ms. Tracy. Tilly will be going there once I go back to work later in March, but I still shed a few tears walking out the door with Nora that afternoon. Here we are introducing the baby to Tracy and having Nora say goodbye for now.

Nora has been at her new pre-school for 2 weeks now, and she seems to like it. Overall, she has transitioned into her new house, new school, and new role as a big sister impressively well.

The last thing I want to mention is that we had to say an even sadder farewell last week to one of our sweet pups. Brandy, the youngest of our 3, was diagnosed with a very painful degenerative disease that went from undetected to critical overnight. We had to make the impossible decision to have her put down. Saying goodbye for the first time to one of our fur babies was one of the hardest things we've had to do.

Here are a couple of our first pictures of Brandy from back in 2009 when we adopted her from Young Williams Animal Center.

And I think these are the last ones I have of her. They would have been taken about a month or so ago just shortly after we moved in to the new house as she and the other pups were getting settled in.

This picture was taken the night before we had to say goodbye. She was resting comfortably at the vet clinic while Brad and I made the only decision there was to make. I'm pretty sure that these mopey dogs knew that something was going on. I tried to get them to look up for the camera, but neither of them would humor me at all.

So while the past few weeks have been mostly filled with great joy as we welcomed Matlida into our lives and became a family of 4, we had some moments of sorrow, too, as we said goodbye to the happiest, biggest knucklehead of a dog who we were ever lucky enough to know.

Weeks 1, 2, and 3

Well January has just about flown by without a word from me. I guess that's what happens when you move just a few days before the new year begins and just a few weeks before you're due to have a baby.

We are pretty well settled in to the new home, and I can honestly say that I love it. I have a few pictures to share!

The exterior. Groovy blue siding and red shutters and roof, right? Someday, we'll spiffy that up, but not today.

Here is Nora's pretty pink and purple paradise. You can see that the biggest wall in the room isn't decorated yet. We're still contemplating what we want to do with it, but for now, the room is perfect for her.

The baby's room is also ready to roll, which is a good thing, since she will be born TOMORROW!

Soon, I'll be able to share pictures of sweet baby sister as well as the rest of the house.

Other than this, the only other things I have to share from January are a sweet little baby "sprinkle" that some church friends threw for me. I appreciated this kind gesture so much.

And since we got settled in, Nora had an adorable play date with her friends Amelia and Penelope. They had "make your own pizzas" while we adults had "take and bake" pizza. They had so much fun playing dress up and fashion show. My favorite line of the day was from Nora: "Come on ladies, we're going to be late for the party." Where do they get this stuff?

So, getting settled into the new house, getting ready for baby, baby sprinkle, and play dates-- I think that about sums up our January so far.

2014 in Review

So much has happened over the past year from listing our house to deciding to add to our family to finally selling our house and finding our new and forever home.

While 2014 ends and 2015 begins, we are a little bit tired and overwhelmed, but I think the best words to describe how we are all feeling is content and blessed.

I have no fancy New Year pictures to share-- just these of my sweet and silly girl with her head lamp searching for "foot prints in the jungle".

Here is to 2015 being filled with fun and adventures.