Waiting...

Everyday after lunch Charlotte takes a nap. Often she plays a long while before ever falling asleep so sometimes she will sleep late into the afternoon (and then take forEVER to fall asleep at night) unless we wake her up. Kate knows that at 4pm everyday she is allowed to gently wake up Charlotte to play with her. This is how I found Kate today.

Just watching the clock, waiting to play with her sister. Sweet.

Happy Birthday, Parks!

Last night our little family went out to dinner for Parks' birthday. I attempted to take a picture of my man with all his girls. Well, they're all in the picture. Parks is a wonderful husband and it's really hard to give him a birthday that tops what he does for me year after year. We tried to let him rest some. Charlotte helped me make breakfast (yikes!) and then we went to the beach. Parks took a midday nap with Hadley and then we all went out to eat. Before we put the girls down we turned on some music and all danced on the rug, the girls had a blast.

This morning Parks took Hadley (& Lily Kate who is always a couple inches away) out of our room and let me take a long nap. Then after breakfast he left Hadley and I alone and took the older girls to Home Depot to do the kids' Saturday building project. I looked it up on their website while they were gone and saw that it was an ESPN game day board :) Our girls painted theirs pink and purple and made dry erase drawing boards. Cute. Then they went to Chick Fil A for lunch. Here is the text I got from Parks while they were there, "Never a dull moment, Charlotte just peed in the play area and now they are shutting it down. Probably time for us to go" I thoroughly enjoyed my time folding laundry and sweeping the floor in peace. What a great husband.

1 Month

Sept 1st (my mom's birthday) Hadley turned 1 month old. The days (and nights) are long but the weeks are short. If you're a parent you've heard the phrase. It couldn't be more true. This month has flown by and I can't remember half of it. Truth time - I felt a lot of anxiety about having 3 kids. Could I handle it without losing my patience/temper daily?? It has been hard, a juggling act with no breaks is what I would liken it to. I am always needed at all times. Really though, when I am alone with Hadley all the stress falls away. It is so therapeutic to hold a newborn. So innocent, so small, so helpless. I have been reminding myself that God likes us in the "I can't do this!" position. It reminds us that life is not about our ability, but about our relationship with Him. And now there are no days that go by where I forget that I need Him.

So, that's how I am. Hadley is tracking along nicely. Parks was calling her "fat & happy" for a while (she's up to 10lbs!) but recently switched to calling her "fat & gassy" - neither name will be allowed past 6months, she's a little lady for goodness sakes. Can't you just imagine her sisters trying revive those nicknames in middle school?! Her tummy has been giving her some trouble though and she spends a lot of time held close with us rubbing patting her stomach. Parks is predicting she will be our calm one. I won't predict, I'll just wait and see. Happy 1 month birthday, Hadley Marie, you sure are sweet and we sure do love you.

Lily Kate really looks at Hadley like a proud momma, she is as enamored by her today as she was 4wks ago when she was born. We gave Hadley her first bottle tonight (well, LK gave it to her) and she took it like a champ. I was thrilled. Charlotte would not touch a bottle (or a paci) of any kind and that made life tricky for the 8 months that she nursed. So, Kate and I were both beaming as Hadley drank :)

look at those little doll baby lips. PS that "beauty mark" on her cheek is a tiny scab from someone's fingernail. Oops.

Don't tell her, but she's still my baby

The O-Team

So many of you know or have heard us talk about our dear friends, the Laniers. Their son, Oliver, has Tuberous Sclerosis and has suffered from seizures for over a year now. The seizures have taken a toll on him mentally and physically and have downright reordered their lives for the last year. It has been a journey of tears and trials and triumphs and trusting God's sovereignty through it all. The Laniers are in Boston this week (and the next 2 weeks) for a brain surgery to remove the parts of Oliver's brain that are the seizure culprits in hopes of giving him a seizure free life. Please check out their blog at www.lanierlanding.blogspot.com and join us in praying for their family and for Oliver's complete and total recovery.

This is most of our bible study wearing our "O Team" tshirts.

Here's a pic of sweet Oliver last spring

And one more pic of Charlotte and Oliver when they were about a month old. They are less than 2 weeks apart.

One more decorating post

I envisioned this little upgrade, but I had almost nothing to do with making it happen since Hadley was born in the middle of it. I wish I had a before picture. There isn't much to show, the breakfast room has been super plain since we moved in. Cream colored walls, brown table, that was about it. I have had a crush on chevron fabric for a while now and wanted to use it somewhere. So, we added these valances, Parks made this fun mirror, and he and my dad hung this grasscloth and put up the chair rail. The next layer may be a big white drum shade on a pendant light. And somewhere in the not near future I want Parks to build me a big pedestal table. This one holds four and we now have 5 people in our family. I think we have some time before Hadley joins us for cereal at the table so we'll give Parks a break for now :)

Our Porch Makeover

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good room makeover. I forgot to take some before pics but I had these from last summer. Here is the porch looking out from the back door.

Once you step out on the porch, this is the view to the left.

Here's the after. This is the same view as the first picture. Notice Parks moved the door so the path through the porch doesn't cut through the living space. Larger table on the right (thank you, World Mkt end of season clearance) and a new, larger rug free of mildew that the last one had.

...and the real reason for the whole makeover. The porch bed! This thing is really great, I forsee some naps out here once the weather cools down.

So, there it is. Next step will be me making some more throw pillows on the porch bed (with a fabric that ties that blue in with the yellow) and some Craigs List chairs to replace the benches at the table. Hoping to find them mismatched & cheap and paint them all the same color. Can I paint chairs that marigold color from the pillow? Too loud?

Snuggle Time

Here's our sweet Charlotte getting some snuggle time with Hadley. So precious.

Sisters

Matching

Nona got the girls these coordinating outfits and for some reason Kate wouldn't wear hers while they were here. Charlotte, on the other hand, wouldn't stop wearing hers. Today Kate put hers on and declared that she was wrong, she does, in fact, love her new dress. So, THANKS Nona. It had to be her idea, right Mom? Know any other kids who were like that???

The Proud Parents

Almost 2 weeks old

Here is Hadley a little more alert for you. And below, some picture of the sisters that seem to always be together. The lack of pictures of Charlotte is A) making me feel awful and B) reminding me of how much easier it is to photograph a 4 yr old little ham & a newborn who can't move than it is to photograph a 2 yr old with other plans. I promise she still lives here and I promise we still love her!

And then there were five...

We had such a great visit with my parents. They were extremely helpful, taking the girls to Monkey Joes, the park, Chick Fil A, and the movie theatre. The kids had a blast and I'm sure my parents are exhausted. It was really nice to have some breaks to nap and even just take a minute to clean up. So, now it's just the five of us. It feels strange. My friend Sherry reminded me today, we're going to survive, we may even come out smiling!

Finally, here is Charlotte, sitting still long enough to get a picture of the new sisters.
And here is a shot of Hadley with her eyes open. It seems we turned a small corner today because she has been awake a lot more, fun times coming.

Little Baby - Big Paci

A Short Movie About Hadley

Our friend Andrew made this great video of Hadley's Birthday. What a great gift from a dear friend. We love you, Laniers!

Lounging

I'm telling you, Lily Kate is with Hadley every chance she can get. Here they are snuggling on the couch. Hadley was awake for a short time, which is about all we get these days. Also, in case you're wondering (b/c I would be) that mark on LK's nose is a scab. While she and Charlotte were living it up in the beach with their babysitter while we were at the hospital Kate was dancing on the sand and she fell and sort of nose-dove into the sand. She has been calling herself Rudolph.

Still getting to know this, seemingly calm little girl. Maybe I just can't remember clearly the other girls' first weeks (not surprising considering the average hours of nightly sleep can be counted on one hand) but Hadley seems SO much calmer than her sisters. She didn't cry at all during her first bath, she loves to be held, she soothes very quickly, goes right to sleep after eating at night. I realize I'm being naive... give her time, right? Well, every momma can hope for a calm one.

Airlie Gardens

Today we spent the morning at Airlie Garden. My parents are with us but they generally stay out of camera range. Here's our attempt at a family picture. Yea, we'll keep trying.

Many of you have been asking, "Where's Charlotte?" Here's our new middle sister. Charlotte has definitely been affected by Hadley's arrival. She plays, as usual, at home and stops periodically to check in with Hadley, tells her how much she loves her, how precious she is, pokes at her some, and runs along. She has been more defiant though, having a much lower tolerance for things that would usually not bother her. She has been crying more this week. She's going to need some special love and attention to help her feel secure right now. I love this sweet girl. Go on, click the picture and blow it up, look at that sweet girl's precious little face....

4 Days Old

I'm in love...

Couple More...

Here are a couple more shots from yesterday (Tuesday). She has spent most of today and yesterday sleeping. Ahh, the Lord knows what He's doing, causing newborns to sleep most of their first few days. I do believe He overlooked the bit about the toddler siblings not being any more tired than usual. Below is Lily Kate meeting Hadley for the first time. To say she is obsessed would be a giant understatement. She won't leave her side at all without much persuasion and is usually holding her.

Above, I like this shot because Parks and Hadley are sleeping Lily Kate is just watching Hadley, stroking her hair. And below, the proud grandparents meeting Hadley for the first time. She is the youngest of 5 grandchildren on my side of our family.

She is Here!!!

Hadley Marie Carpenter is Here

She is 7lbs 13 oz. and 19.5 inches

More pictures to come