Happy Birthday, Norah!

Two years ago we were doing this:

(photo by my bestie Brittany)

And to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the arrival of the most charming, energetic, sweetest little girl ever, we filled her room with balloons while she was sleeping:

We ate homemade cinnamon rolls, complete with two pink birthday candles:

We opened a few gifts:

And played with her big gift, her very own kitchen!

A family of four

Adjusting to two kids is hard in the best kind of way. I have two littles that I love more than anything, so naturally I want to give them the best me possible. It's been a learning process, but we're getting there.

Meet my son, the darling baby that sleeps so well at night, allowing his mommy 4-5 hour stretches of sleep at a time:

Meet Super-Dad! The man that works so hard to keep our family sane, bringing me food and water when I'm hungry, watches movies with Norah in the morning while I sleep in, and changed every single diaper for the first week of Clayton's life. That folks, is true love.

And last, but certainly not least, the best big sister in the world. Norah adores Clayton, and has been such a great helper.

One week ago today ...

My perfect little man was born! He was 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 1/2 inches ... an ounce bigger and a half-inch shorter than Norah. Being induced was a completely different experience from going into labor on my own with Norah, but since I tested positive for the Group B Strep and my labors go so quickly we decided it would be best to be able to start the antibiotics before the labor. Someday when I get the chance, I'll write the whole story, but for now here's the story in pictures:

My last belly shots!

Norah loves her baby brother, so much.

My sisters were able to be in the room when I delivered Clayton.

I love this little man so much, so much.

So little! Going home from the hospital.

Just keep swimming

I fondly refer to Norah as "my little fishy" not because she smells like a sea creature (which she doesn't) but because she is a lover of water. The two things she wants to do every day are, No. 1, go to church. When I explain to her that today is ______ (fill in the blank with any day but Sunday) she then asks to go swimming. "Splash Mama! Splash Daddy! Splash Ry Ry!" she'll shout. Of course, if swimming isn't an option, she'll request to go shopping ... which is another post for another day. 

Once Norah's done swimming, she'll jump out of the pool and request a towel. Then, she wants to be rocked like a baby. Of course, we're more than happy to oblige.

Our Family

A few weeks back we had our family pictures taken by Gianne Snow. Here I am with my 34-week baby bump! I'm now 38 weeks and just last night Jason made the comment wondering how it's even possible that he feels less prepared to have a baby this time around. I couldn't agree more. It feels so surreal, but yet in just 8 days we'll be holding our little baby boy. And while I'm excited, I'm going to do my best to enjoy my last few moments being a mommy of one.