Three Weeks Old...

Mollie is 3 weeks old now.  I intended to post pictures of her last week (and the week before), but it has been very busy around here--making  the transition to three children has been a lot more demanding than I thought it would be.  But the kids are all doing great!  Even Ellie, who I worried might have jealousy issues, really loves her sister.  While she has been more clingy to me, she also likes to hug, kiss, and lay down beside Mollie any chance she can get.  On several occasions, I've even caught her sitting on top of Mollie in the baby swing, and playing peek-a-boo with her (a.k.a. putting a wadded up blanket over Mollie's face, leaving it there for a few moments, and then yanking it off and yelling "Peek A Boo!")  Yikes--we've had to have the 'Don't-put-anything-over-the-baby's-face' conversation a few times.  :)  Here is Mollie at three weeks old:

Getting tired of this photo shoot:

Ellie is practicing her big sister skills:

Mason loves holding Mollie, and is very protective of her:

And Then There Were Three...

Meeting Mollie...

We finally got to meet our precious Mollie on Tuesday, October 26th, at 12:09 p.m.  She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 inches long.  Welcome to our family, sweet girl!

 

  
A feeble attempt at a new family picture:  Matthew and Mason are not even looking, yet somehow Mason has his hand wrapped around Ellie's face.  Ellie is trying to choke me, and Mollie sleeps through the whole thing. 

Nine Months...

It's hard to believe that our nine months of waiting to meet our new daughter are coming to an end.  For months I have felt her moving, her presence is always with me, I have known her in a way, but yet she still seems like such a stranger to me.  But in just a few days, we will finally get to meet Mollie.  Since this will be our last, I've been feeling many mixed emotions.  I have loved every pregnancy, and as tiring as it can sometimes be, all three have been the most exciting times of my life.  It is a very bittersweet feeling to know that in a few days, that stage of my life will be over.  So I am enjoying every last moment of this!  Even though I've taken those infamous belly shots every month of all 3 pregnancies, I've tried to refrain from posting them on the blog, to spare others from having to view any visible stretch marks beauty marks.  :)  But as I've been preparing to meet my daughter, I've been doing a lot of reflecting back on the days Mason and Ellie were born, and I just couldn't help myself.  How amazing that God so graciously allows us to be a part of bringing new life into the world!

Nine months pregnant with Mason:

Nine months pregnant with Ellie:

Nine months pregnant with Mollie:

Two...

Today my baby girl turned two.  She walked around all day talking about her "happy to you" cupcakes and her "happy to you" presents.  It's so much fun to see her beginning to understand that this special day is about her.  I spent the day thinking back on the wonderful day she was born, and it's so hard to believe that two years have so quickly passed.   My 'baby' is looking less like a baby and more like a little girl every day. 

The day of Ellie's birth:

Ellie's first birthday:

So much fun to be two!!



Bedtime Buddies...

Mason and Ellie have been sharing a room for 5 days now, and I have to admit that it has gone much better than I anticipated.  Every morning, whoever wakes up first will wake the other, and then they will come get into bed with me.  They even sit on the floor and play in their new room together (lately with puzzles) before Mason heads off to school--a sweet sight for Momma to see!  But tonight was the cutest of all.  As we were tucking the kids in, Ellie decided to climb into bed with Mason.  But before sending her back to bed, I managed to get a few pictures of these sweet siblings: 

Painting Pumpkins...

After some experiences carving pumpkins with Mason when he was younger, I finally wised up and realized that painting pumpkins is so much better!  For one thing, with paint, the kids get to decorate their pumpkins completely independently.  (When carving, there's not as much they can do, since obviously there's a sharp knife involved.)  This was Ellie's first experience decorating a pumpkin.  She has recently discovered painting, and will gladly paint anything that is placed before her:

The finished products: