The Murray's Visit

I'll try to keep this blog post short on words because it's going to be heavy on pictures. Charlie is doing great. He is getting so chunky so fast, I don't feel like he even looks like a brand new baby anymore. We were just at the pediatrician yesterday, and with a diaper on, he was over 10 pounds!!!! It's going way too fast. I'm still having fun being his mamarazzi with the camera.









Olivia and Jordan (Audrina's parents) welcomed a baby boy, Beckett, into their family a week before Charlie was born. They came to visit and it's so exciting that Reese and Charlie will both have playmates now!









We celebrated Matt's first Father's Day with two kids.





I made him a new "DAD" photo with both kiddos to replace the one I did with Reese last year.



I wanted to get a nice picture of Reese and Charlie wearing their "Big Sister" and "Little Brother" shirts together, but this was what I got instead.



And here's Charlie really being a great little brother, letting his sister cover him in Dora stickers. He's such a good sport already.



We enjoyed a fun day at the pool last Sunday. We're hoping to spend a lot of time there this summer!











We just finished up a great visit with Brian, Jacqi, Austin, and Callie. They came into town for over a week long visit, and it's been great to have everyone together. Austin and Reese fight like brother and sister (which makes me a little scared for when my own kids start fighting like brother and sister), but they love each other like crazy and are always wanting the other one around. Luckily, my mom kept them very busy with projects to try to keep the fighting to a minimum.















I love this fluffy butt and these chubby legs.



Callie is the happiest baby. Ever.





Charlie is pretty awesome too.



Reese is kind of obsessed with Callie. Grandpa helped her hold her one morning.



She's getting so strong!



She's just waiting for her modeling career to take off.



Brian, Jacqi, Austin, Callie, my mom, Reese, Charlie, and I all went to the zoo on Monday. The weather was perfect, and we had a great day. Reese and Austin especially liked the Children's zoo, and Austin was nice enough to put this goat in a headlock so Reese could get a closer look.









My favorite was the butterfly exhibit. I have wanted to go in there for a long time!











I'm so bummed that this butterfly's wings are so beaten up because it kind of ruins the picture. Ooops, I mean because I feel so badly for the butterfly.



The giraffes are always one of my favorites.





My heart melted today watching Reese sing to Charlie while he was sleeping.



Daddy and his little man.



We tried to take some family pictures before we said our goodbyes tonight. I got a few good pictures of Jacqi's family.





Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well for us. ;)

Sleepy Baby

Charlie is 8 days new now and doing great. We are definitely still in the honeymoon phase. He is sleeping the days away, and it's a rare treat to see him with his eyes open. He's been great at night too. He wakes anywhere from 2-4 times to eat and have his diaper changed, and he goes right back to sleep. I'm getting spoiled, and I'm going to be tired when this boy starts becoming more alert! But for now, I'm enjoying my sleepy baby and having fun taking pictures of his peaceful sleep. :)











And I couldn't do a blog post without including our gal pal. Reese is still doing great with Charlie. We spent the day at my mom's today. My Grandma Betty came over to meet Charlie, and he enjoyed the day snuggling in her arms. Reese and I sneaked away for a quick walk to see the flowers in the area around the library behind my parents house. Reese had a fun day playing with all of the toys at Grandma and Grandpa's, and she really enjoyed her broccoli for lunch. :)

Introducing Charlie!!!

Charles Matthew was born June 6, 2012 at 4:35 p.m. weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces. He is 19 inches long, and a perfect picture of health. His birth was perfectly uneventful after 7.5 hours of labor.







Charlie came out crying right away, and I got to hold him before the cord was even cut. Amazing.







The White Sox were in 1st place on his birthday. :)



After a couple hours, we were moved from Labor & Delivery to the Mother Baby unit. My parents brought Reese up to meet her brother. She was excited when she saw him. She smiled & said, "The baby came out!" She has been full of hugs and kisses for him. She's doing really well, and watching them together melts my heart.







After they went home, we took Charlie to the nursery for his first bath. He did not enjoy it.





The next morning, my parents and Reese came up to visit again. Reese was super excited to see Charlie and she couldn't keep her hands off of him. She looked so adorable in her Big Sister shirt and the double french braids that my mom somehow managed to get her to sit still for.











After many months of waiting, Reese finally got to give her brother a fist bump.







Matt's parents and his brother Brian came up to meet the baby that evening.







We were able to go home Friday morning. Reese was super excited that the baby was in the house.





So far, Charlie has been a very laid back baby. He is eating and sleeping great (for a newborn). We are loving our new family of four. We can't wait for everyone to meet him!

I thought I would do a quick update while I still have some free time on my hands. We have been keeping pretty busy the last couple weeks, trying to sneak in lots of last minute fun with Reese before we turn her world upside down. :)

A few weeks ago, we met up with some friends at the zoo. It was a pretty hot day, and the kids had a blast playing in the splash area more than anything.





That weekend, Reese helped me plant our vegetable garden. She had a blast watering the plants and digging around in the mud. I'm so excited for her to watch the garden grow. She's loves going out to check on it, and I can't wait to be able to pick our first vegetable.











We have been spending a lot of time at the park, and Reese is becoming less interested in the toddler play areas and more interested in going down the big slides and climbing all the stairs. She also likes the regular swings more than the baby swings. How did she get so big?





Matt took a couple pictures of Reese showing the belly some love. She asks to see the baby all the time, and she loves talking to my belly. She has been asking where all of the body parts are lately, and the other day, she wanted to know where his hands are so she could give him a fist bump.





Reese is still a singing maniac, and she loves to play the piano and sing her songs. It's hilarious and adorable.



Yesterday, we went to the children's museum and then walked along the river walk downtown Naperville. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and we had a great day as a family.







Baby Watch 2012: I'm officially on maternity leave now. I was originally planning to work up until June 6th, but the 10 hour days have been getting really hard. I have been swelling like crazy and having constant contractions. My boss was getting nervous about not having coverage if I had the baby early, and felt more comfortable getting other hygienists lined up so we wouldn't have to cancel any patients if something happened at the last minute, so I started my leave a little early. I was initially annoyed, but I'm happy to have a little extra time at home with Reese. And it's nice to be able to be barefoot. :)

This little man is a total tease. I have basically been having contractions for 9 days straight now. They come and go, and usually stick around for a consistent 2-5 hour period of time each day. It's just long enough to make us think something is really happening, and then they disappear or become inconsistent again. We ended up going to Labor & Delivery last Saturday morning at 3:00 a.m. after 6 hours straight of contractions 7-8 minutes apart. Sure enough, it was false labor and they sent us home. It's been making me crazy, because there's so much more to think about this time around, with needing to be sure someone can be here to watch Reese if we need to leave right away. Between that and our hour long drive to the hospital, the uncertainty of never knowing whether or not it's the real deal is driving me nuts. And the constant contractions are leaving me feel like my whole body has just been beat up. I'm trying to be patient, since we're still a week away from the due date, but all I can say is that this baby better be cute. :) We are definitely getting very anxious to meet him, and I still can't believe that we will be a family of four very soon!!!!