Quick Trip to Alabama

The kiddos and I took a quick trip to Birmingham and Huntsville this weekend. Matt had a long weekend on call so it was good for us to get out of town and see the families.

We went hiking in Moss Rock, played with friends at the playground, saw Jenny dance in Snow White, went to a great show at the circus, visited with our friend Kim who came all the way from Australia, and had some fun pool time.

Here's a iPhone unload from the weekend. :)

First Days at Home

Our baby girl has been home with us for about 2 weeks now and it has been wonderful. She's a wonderful baby and Lucas is still handling the big change like a champ. Matt is back at work and we are getting used to our new family life as a family of four.

First Family Photo

Rare Moment of Open Eyes

Our little "boy" (in Lucas' hand me downs)

Kiddos Together

Hi World

My Little Angel

Precious Cuddle Time with Both of My Favorite Kids

Not sure what to think of the world yet

Changing Table Time

Daddy Cuddles

Story Time

With her new Dragon Wubbanub

Naked Girl getting ready for her first Bath

First Hair Washing

Little Piggy

Which one is Haley and which one is Lucas? For anyone that has wondered whether our kids look alike. :)

A Sweet Big Brother after Bathtime

After their Baths

Welcome Haley Kate!

Haley Kate Israel was born on April 5, 2012 at 6:30 am. She weighted 7#8oz and was 21 inches long. She is beautiful and amazing and we are so thrilled that she's here.

She just barely avoided making a very dramatic entrance into this world. The labor and delivery went great except for a few "decels" (dips in the baby's heart rate that can sometimes be a sign of not enough oxygen being delivered to the baby). After Haley was born, we found out that she had a triple nuchal cord wrapped around her neck and that the placenta had been partially abrupted (torn off the uterine wall partially). Luckily she was born screaming and has done great, but we feel very lucky that things didn't go differently.

Lucas has been the best big brother! He loves "his baby" and loves on her non-stop. He's a big help to mommy and has so far done really well with sharing his parents.

First Kisses

All smiles for the camera when meeting little sis

My sweet family

The wonderful big brother

Mommy and Haley

The proud new daddy of two

More snuggles

First bow (it didn't last long)

Countdown

The countdown is on. I'm 38 weeks and a day pregnant today and our little girl could make her arrival any day now. Lucas' soon to be shared room has been invaded by pink baby clothes (and 61 pairs of pink baby socks thanks to amazing friends and lots of hand me downs) and we're trying to store up some energy for a few sleepless weeks.

61 pairs of pink baby socks (yes, Matt counted :)

The pink invasion

Needless to say we're all super excited about the arrival of baby "Sally" (as Lucas has named her... stay tuned for the real name).

Quick pictures of my favorite little man and his friend Emma at a birthday party last week. Love my little boy.

Moss Rock

After Christmas we got the chance to spend some time with my family in Birmingham. We spent a beautiful Alabama December afternoon out at Moss Rock, a preservation with great hiking trails, rocks, and a river. Lucas had a blast, as he always does when we let him wear his beloved boots. We also had a chance to get out or new camera we got for Christmas and to play with all the settings. We are still learning but got some good shots.

Love my baby sister

Fun with Opa

Fun with Oma too

Lucas loved this tree trunk bridge

Family shot (with my Oma Emmi!)

26 weeks

This last shot was taken in Huntsville a few days earlier. Little man watching his favorite Mickey Mouse in a big bed.

Our Baby GIRL!

Lucas is having a baby sister (he is however when you ask him naming her "Brother") ! We are so excited and Matt's coming to terms with the idea of a non-male dominated family. Let's be honest... she will have him wrapped around her little finger.

She looks healthy and perfect on ultrasound (yes, 4 chambers of the heart which her Daddy was very excited about). And so angelic in the picture below. We have a feeling that looks can be deceiving.

We can't wait to meet you little girl!