And then there were four....

On January 27th, 2010 our lives changed. We welcomed our Little Levi into this world. As I watch him sleeping peacefully I am completely overcome with love. I can't even imagine life without him. He fills me with such amazement and beauty. He is absolutely perfect in every way. His eyes, his little hands and feet, his little nose that wrinkles up when he's looking to me for food, his little breaths that seem to tell me everything. He completes me, he completes our family. He is such a sweet and snuggly baby. He is completely content and happy. He came to us at 1:33 pm weighing 8 pounds and 20 inches long. I had the labor of my dreams. Thanks to my Bo, my mother and my doula I had a mere 6 hours of labor followed by 10 minutes of pushing. I can't explain how great I feel right now in my life. I have never felt this good. I'm the mother of two. I'm the mother of the sweetest little boy on this Earth. This may sound funny...but, just the feeling I get at the end of the day when I've given them both their baths, gotten them to bed, and look around is beyond words. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. I feel so blessed to be given the chance to be a mother to both a boy and a girl. I am filled to the brim with thanks. I'm so glad that these children have chosen their dad and I to lead them through their lives. We won't let them down, and will help them to live out their dreams. I can't wait to share in all the adventures.

BabyGirl is the best big sister in the universe! She is filled with such love for her little brother. She wants to participate in every single aspect of his care. I can always count on her to help me out in any way, and will beg to do so! I know it has been quite the adjustment for her. After all, she's been our only baby for almost 7 years now. She's given up all of her outside activities for now to stay at home and help keep things flowing smoothly. I explain to her that she got no less than everything her brother is getting when she was a newborn, and she understands completely. She has admitted to me that she sometimes feels everyone loves the baby more than her, and that they would rather spend more time with the baby than with her. I assured her this is certainly not the case, and that she is just as important as the new baby. These moments of doubt are few and far between, and I know the end result is going to far outweigh any ounce of jealousy that may arise. I've had to face my own moments of sorrow when dealing with these times. It's hard as a mother to think that your child is feeling any ill emotions, and especially hard when you feel you've been the cause of it. But, things are beginning to return to normal around here. We're catching up on sleep, doing our daily chores, and cherishing every moment of the day together. This is bliss.

When Levi was 13 days old, he became very fussy in the afternoon. He continued the fussiness throughout the evening, and eventually ran a fever in the middle of the night of 101.1. I called the pediatrician, and he wanted me to bring him in at 8am. We did. He was still running a fever, and not eating as much as he had. After some blood work we found out his WBC was very high. We were admitted into St. John. We spent 2 nights on the pediatric floor. He received 2 abx IV, and started eating normally again. We were released on the 3rd day when his blood work straightened up. We've never been so scared in our lives. I've never felt so helpless as when I was listening to him cry across the hall with his daddy as the IV was put into his scalp, or as when I watched the abx flowing into his veins hoping there were no adverse reactions, and that they were going to take care of the problem. There was absolutely nothing I could do. I'm so thankful for my baby boy's health. We are home, he is flourishing, and the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on. I'm thankful for my husband who took care of absolutely everything, my mother who spent each day by my side at the hospital, and my mother in law who took care of my precious BabyGirl not only during this stay, but also during my labor and delivery as well. Life is such a gift. It's such a fragile, complicated and wonderful thing. I will never take for granted a single second. We heard so many children in the hospital crying and screaming. There is no sound worse than that in the world. I'm so glad to be home with my healthy, happy, miraculous children. They are everything to me.

Despite the fact that we've been pretty much home bound for quite some time...due to the end of pregnancy, snow, and new baby....we had the best Valentines Day ever!! We got so many Valentine's! BabyGirl got tons of cards, candy, toys and stuffed animals. I got some beautiful roses, and the most wonderful husband I could ever ask for. Levi even got his fair share! We started our Valentine cookies on the 14th, but didn't actually finish them until the 15th. They are amazing!!! BabyGirl cut them out and decorated them all by herself!! She is such a wonderful artist!!!

So, that is what's been going on around here. We are living in our own little wonder land right now. Life is good, getting used to being a family of four. I can't even imagine things any other way. I am just gushing with sappy, fabulous emotions right now. Totally on top of the world....