Welcome to the chaos Madeline!

Our sweet little Madeline was born on May 17th. It was a scheduled c-section and it seemed so surreal the day before that we were going to meet our baby in the morning and  it would be under a 20 hour labor unlike the other two! We dropped McKinley and Molly off at my parents' house the night before, because we had to leave our house at 5:00 to get to the hospital and be prepped. It was really nice to have one quiet night before the baby came.

The morning came quick and I wasn't really nervous until I had to walk into the operating room without Robbie. They do all the prep in there without him and then he comes in when the cutting begins. 

I know maybe it sounds pessimistic, which isn't typically like me, but with the way the last two deliveries went I was just sort of waiting for something to go wrong this time. I got a little teary as I walked out of my room toward the OR and had to leave Robbie behind, but I pretty much have the best (and happiest) doctor in the world and when I saw her I felt much more calm.

Robbie came in the room just as they were making the first incision and just a few minutes later I felt the pressure in my stomach release and heard the cry of our beautiful little girl. She grabbed the scissors from one of the doctors after they cut her umbilical cord and all the doctors were laughing and saying "take the scissors from the baby" because she apparently stole them. After they got scissors out of "strong grip" they held her over the curtain and I saw her for the first time. Even right now it brings a little tear to my eye, she was finally here and we were both perfectly fine this time. What a relief and a huge blessing.

She was born at 7:45 am and weighed in right in between her sisters at 8lbs and 2 ounces and 20.5 inches long with dark hair. One of the nurses in the room took this picture of the three of us and I know it's sort of an unconventional photo to love, but it's one of my favorites!

 

We didn't decide on her first name until later that day, it was between two names and we ended up letting the girls vote. Madeline Ann (after her Nana, who she also now shares a birthday with) Loomis is what we decided to call her and her sisters love her like crazy!

We were super horrible at taking pictures in the hospital this time of just the new little one, so this is all we have haha! The hospital stay was my shortest ever, only 4 days...it was so nice to go home that soon and not have people in my room checking me every half hour the whole time I was there and have MRIs and all sorts of other tests! When the time came to go, Robbie was in a hurry (I'm still not sure why :) ), so this is the only picture we got of her ready to come home and face her new reality. So far she is a sweet, beautiful little girl and I am enjoying all of her snuggles. I forgot how warm and cuddly newborns are. :) We love you Madeline...welcome to the chaos!

McKinley Turned 5

On May 6th, my oldest little lady turned 5! Most days I would tell you how much I love having a 5 year-old. McKinley is helpful, kind, imaginative, sweet and a sometimes too loving older sister. Her smile can light up a room and she has a way of making everyone feel loved.

She basically had 3 days of birthday...I wish I could have that every year! The extravaganza started on Saturday with a birthday party with her friends. She wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirates party and I did my best to make it happen! I was a little nervous about having 15 of her friends and the house plus her and Molly when I was two weeks from delivering the baby, but I did it and I think the kids had fun. When the guests arrived, they got Pixie Dust like Izzy (glitter glue in a bag to hang around their neck) and tattoos to make them feel piratey. We played pin the sword on Jake,

musical chairs-but with pictures of the characters taped to the ground

and a present game with lots of jumping on the trampoline, digging in the sand and playing on the playground in between.

After each game the kids each got a gold doubloon, just like on the show. And each of the kids went home with a little favor bag.

 And here are the cupcakes made to look like pirate ships. I think the kids had a good time and McKinley loved having so many friends over to the house all at once.

 The next day was Sunday and though her birthday was on Monday it made the most sense to do the family party on Sunday when it was easier for everyone to get here. This party was much more low key. We had dinner, the kids did a pinata and of course there was cake and ice cream. The cake was made to look like a treasure chest to keep with our pirate theme.

The pinata was pretty fun, all the kids had a turn and then we made Uncle Jon and Uncle Ty take some swings at it too. He was one tough pirate to break!

It was nice to have so much family come over for her birthday and the weather was really perfect to eat and visit outside.

Now we are on to the actual birthday...Monday. McKinley had school that day, so she took treats and loved passing them out. Then, for some unknown reason, I felt like we had to do something on her actual birthday, so we took the family out to Olive Garden-her favorite restaurant. The funny thing is why it's her favorite....because of the mints at the end, we should really start saving ourselves $40 and just go spend $3 to buy her Andes mints from the grocery store, the things we do for our kids!

Happy Birthday to the coolest, nicest and most fun 5-year-old I know! We love you McKinley!

March and April

I feel like I should at least throw a couple of pictures up here, so without words, here are some pics of some things that got us through March and April.

(yes, Molly finally wears her Halloween costume!)