Valerie's first pool day!

May 26th was the first day at the pool for Valerie! (9 days old). George and I took the kiddos to swim at our gym's waterpark for a couple hours since it was so warm.

Lexi was super hesitant about the water for some reason. She LOVED it last summer--I hope she gets comfortable again soon.

Valerie slept the whole time like the dream baby she is.

I still can't get over how tiny she seems. She is our smallest baby (other than Lance) by a good half-pound and it's totally throwing me off.

The girls have yet to grow tired of their baby sister and want to snuggle her and hold her at every opportunity. 

Meeting family and settling in

The first weekend we were home, we drove up to Ashburn to pick up the girls. They had been staying with Grandmom and Pop Pop so George and I could get settled in with Valerie. I missed them too much, so we went up a few days earlier than planned.

This little lady is a pretty decent sleeper already! She wakes up every 2-3 hours to eat, but goes right back to sleep. In fact, this is a rare sight for her these days:

Based on her body language, I think she'd rather be asleep. 

The girls were so excited to see Valerie again! They fought over who got to hold her. This baby is going to be tough with all this "love" she's getting.

Meeting Grandmom!

These girls love their Aunt Jen. I have a sneaky suspicion Valerie will feel the same way.

Don't let these sweet smiles fool you. Lexi's world has ben ROCKED! She is super clingy and whiny, and has started having more trouble not only going to sleep at night, but staying asleep.

Valerie got to meet some of my family while we were up there! Laura hosted a Birthday dinner for Stephen that we attended before heading back to Charlottesville.

Grant thought Valerie was pretty neat.

I also got to meet Ashley, Stephen's girlfriend! She seems super nice and perfect for him. We love her already!

Home again, home again. Other than the not sleep I'm getting thanks to Lexi, the transition hasn't been too bad. I'm feeling well and recovering quickly.

She sure is loved by her siblings.

Poor girl. She has learned to crawl out of her crib and has since given up her naps. She is overly tired all day long and desperately exhausted by dinner time, but fights sleep like a champ. It's not Valerie that keeps us up at night, it's this little crazy right here:

 She'll wake up at night with night terrors and be completely inconsolable, rolling around on the floor and screaming. We have to turn on all the lights and "wake her up" to get her to stop. It usually takes over 30 minutes before she's back to sleep. Or she'll wake up and insist I hold her or sing to her or feed her over the course of an hour or two before she's back asleep. I'm not sure I'm going to survive this little insomniac.

Cole sat down and wrote this note for me. Melted my heart!

My girls!

George's buddy from work sent us an edible arrangement that the girls made quick work of. Jen and Eric also sent us chocolate covered strawberries that didn't last longer than a couple days. They were SO good!

Hi there!

And life continues... on our way to the bus stop. My friend Julie snapped these pictures for me and I love them. It'll be fun to look back at this moment of motherhood.

While the boys are at school, there is a lot of this that goes on:

The thumb-sucking hasn't gone away! I think this baby really will be our first official thumb-sucker! Hooray for self-soothing!

Welcome home, Valerie!

After a stressful morning of watching her bili numbers, we were finally given the green light to go home around 2 p.m. on May 18th! Yes!

So long, UVa!

We made it home just in time to get the boys off the bus. It's so good to be home!

These cute girls were loving the undivided attention from Grandmom and Pop Pop!

My mom checked on my constantly by phone. She was in South Carolina with Grandma Brewer. Grandma had been with Aunt Nellie for a few weeks helping her recover from her mastectomy and suffered a mini-stroke. Mom and Jason drove up from Florida to be with her. Thankfully, Grandma recovered quickly with no lasting ill effects.

Mom with Aunt Nellie:

The boys were having fun being the only big kids at home. Scott came and picked up Lance for the weekend, so it was just Jude and Cole at home. They broke out the perler beads and had fun making creations without the girls around to knock them over.

Love my family!

A family of 8! First bath and meeting her siblings

We have the BEST friends! George had been up all night with me while I labored and then rushed home after the delivery to get the kids ready for school and dropped off. He was exhausted. Our friend Sara (her husband Sam slept on our couch during the night) offered to take the girls for the day so George could get in a nap. They are amazing!

Our sweet baby still didn't have an official name. Naming babies is so hard!

Her first bath! By this time I was able to get up and walk around, so I got a couple decent pictures.

Right before her bath, our sweet neighbor Kim stopped by to say hello. He and his wife Linda volunteer at Mercy at the hospital and he run up after his shift to see the baby. He was so excited he got to see her first bath!

She loved getting her head scrubbed.

Right after school, George brought the kids to the hospital to see the baby! Pop Pop had driven down to help out at home and came too. Lance was still at school and would come later.

All the kids were excited to meet her, but I think Lexi might have been the most excited.

Taking turns hold her:

This baby is so loved already.

Big brother Jude is already a pro.

Cole wanted to check out her whole body and see all her fingers and toes.

A baby is only interesting for so long. It didn't take the kids long before they were looking for other ways to entertain themselves. Lexi thought sliding around on the floor was great!

Pop Pop! He was amazing to drive down to help out. After visiting us, he watched all the kids so George could attend Lance's band concert and then drove Lily and Lexi to Ashburn so we'd only have the boys at home for a few days. It was so helpful!

Three generations!

Gosh I miss the kids when I'm in the hospital. I always try for a 24-hour discharge so I can get home. I was crossing my fingers Valerie's bili levels would be okay so we could go home early the next morning.

Lance had his band concert that night and did well! I was sad I missed it, but grateful George could be there.

Right after the concert, he came to visit the baby, too.

George and I had finally decided on a name: Valerie Lynn. Lance was SO excited--Valerie was the name he had been hoping for.

Lance had not been excited during my pregnancy about having another sibling (he may have even cried tears of sadness when we told him we were pregnant). I think having her name be the one he chose helped smooth the transition. He jumped right in and held her and loved on her and was so proud he "picked" her name. Regardless of what he says about having little siblings, Lance is GREAT with the babies and is very helpful. So grateful for my big boy!

We had Lance snap a couple pictures of us while he was there.

Valerie is a thumb-sucker already! She's managed to find her thumb and her fingers already. I wish they let us give pacifiers at the hospital. This girls has no problem nursing and stayed attached all night long. I'm crossing my fingers my milk comes in quickly because this little girl is ravenous!