We're having a...

BOY!!!!  

And he's due to arrive May 25.

And since we love balloons we decided to have a little family photoshoot.

We used our tripod and remote and snapped pictures away.

Both Faith and Grace had a blast playing with the balloons.

Then they wanted to play in the box, of course.

They took turns popping in and out of our box yelling, "Surprise!"

The best family pictures are the ones that are fun to make.

Ultrasound pictures

Here are the ultrasound pictures of our new bundle of joy.

 Here's a profile picture.

 It's a boy!

 Here are his feet.

 And tiny little toes.

 Then the technician switched to 3D as she tried out her new machine.  Here's his little face.

 And arms and hands.  

And his little legs.  We love him already.

Boo-hoo!

Faith always pokes her bottom lip out before crying.  My mother tells me I used to do the same thing...

...And I still do...

Birth announcements and portraits

I finally got around to mailing out birth announcements.

I made them myself.  I've decided that professional photographers are overrated.  I like the pictures I take just as much as any overpriced stranger at some studio would take...

This is the one I took of David holding Faith here at home using our chaise lounge for the background.

I covered our sofa with a white sheet and took these.

I love them in sepia.

I like them in color, too.

I especially like the pictures of all Faith's little details.

And I love this one where she's holding my finger.

I doubt we'll be going back to a portrait studio any time soon.

1 month checkup

Today Faith had her 1 month checkup.

She weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces.  That puts her in the 75 percentile for her weight.

And she grew an entire inch in the last 2 weeks.  She's now 22 1/2 inches long!  That puts her in the 95 percentile for her height. 

She's a growing baby!  Her pediatrician said that she looks great and is growing well.  She was supposed to get her 2nd Hepatitis B shot, but wasn't able to get it since it hadn't been a full 30 days since she was born.  So she'll get that shot at her 2 month checkup. 

While Faith was getting her checkup, Grace played "High 5" with her Daddy.

And she got another lollipop after Faith's visit.  Needless to say, Grace is ready to take Faith back to the doctor!  We like Faith's pediatrician so much that we've decided to let her see Grace as well.  Grace has her 3 year checkup and Faith has her 2 month checkup next month on September 21.  I'm glad that the pediatrician can see them both at the same time!

Faith's first visit to the doctor

Today Faith had her first visit to her pediatrician.

The nurse weighed her.  I was shocked to see that she weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces.

When she came home from the hospital on Thursday she weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces.  But my milk came in strongly that same day and Faith has been nursing ever since.

Then the nurse measured Faith's height.  She's grown 1/4 of an inch and is now 21 1/4 inches long.

They also measured her head circumference.

And listened to her heartbeat.

Faith's pediatrician told us that Faith is doing extremely well.  There is no hint of jaundice and she's growing exceptionally well.  She also told us that most breastfed babies are at their lowest weight around 1 week old.  I think she was pretty surprised to see Faith gain so much weight in such a short amount of time and I think we shocked her when we told her that I was producing an extra 30 ounces of milk each day.  I'm sure my milk production will eventually level off (at least I hope so but in the meantime I'm enjoying burning all those extra calories!) 

Faith goes back next week on Tuesday August 3 for her 2 week checkup.

We're home!

This morning Faith and I both received our discharged papers so David and Grace came to the hospital to bring us home.  We are so glad to finally be going home!  Our stay in the hospital was wonderful but there's just no place as wonderful as being at home with family.

Before we left we received a surprise visit from Santa Claus!  Apparently work is slow at the North Pole this time of year.

After our visit we bundled Faith up in her car seat.

And then we loaded up a cart with all our presents, flowers, and goodies.

While I said goodbye to my hospital room

Grace played with Faith

And David went to get the car.

Then a nurse wheeled me and Faith to the car while Grace walked beside us.

Soon Faith was ready for her first car ride.

And Grace was ready to take her new baby sister home!

As soon as we got home Chloe ran up to greet Faith.

It's so nice to finally be home!

Hospital fun

Faith and I started the morning off with a good morning belch.

Then David and Grace arrived at the hospital.

And we spent some good quality time together as a family.

Mammee came back to visit us.

And we measured Faith's feet to Mammee's finger just like we did when Grace was born.

Later Grace and Aunt Hope played "This little piggy" with Faith.

Then Grace sang to her baby sister.

Then Grace went to lunch with her Aunt Hope.  As soon as they got back to the hospital, Grace ran over to check on her baby sister.

Then Grace broke out the hospital gloves.

It's amazing how something so simple can really entertain kids.

Grace played doctor for a while.

She took her time while checking out her baby sister.

Grace is very gentle with Faith.

But we have to keep a close eye on her because she'll use any and all instruments just like the doctors do!

Later that evening Queenie and Grandaddy came to the hospital with a bunch of gifts for Faith.

And a Dora backpack full of goodies for Grace.

Now Grace won't go anywhere without her "pack-pack" (backpack).

Thankfully, both David and I were able to take decent nap today.

It was a fun and exciting day today but I can't wait to go home tomorrow.