The Meeting

After I was settled in my room with Graham, the girls came up to meet their new little brother!

They were cautious at first, but have quickly warmed up to the little guy.

Clare gave Daddy a high five...."Good job, Daddy!"

Clare was the only one who wanted to hold him on his first day. She looks pleased as punch to be a big sister again. Her love of holding him has only grown from day one.

The next day the girls wore their new big sister shirts. This picture proves that plans for a great picture don't always goes as planned!

At first Sydney seemed mostly uninterested. However, today she decided to hold him, and she did great!

Jane has been a little sad the past few days. She has had a lot of change thrown at her. She did enjoy holding Graham for a bit yesterday. I think she will be glad when everyone is under one roof again.

The first picture of me with my four kids!

Graham and I head home tomorrow....and the real adventure begins!

He's Here...

...and he's awesome!

Graham Charles Eoff was born this morning at 7:53.
He weighed 9 lbs, 8 oz and was 21 inches long.

I am doing well and feeling very thankful for a healthy baby boy!

Easter 2011

Our Easter festivities began at Deedee and Papaw's on Saturday. We were joined by Emme, Grandad, Bryan and Morgan. The girls were very excited about the egg hunt, and as soon as we got there, they grabbed their baskets and were ready to get started!

When it was go time, they took off running.

Calling in the reinforcements....

Success! They found all of the eggs!

The girls enjoyed all of the loot, and the adults enjoyed the good food and family!

Sunday morning, we woke up and went to church. Clare, Jane and Sydney looked really sweet in their white Easter dresses....

...but never fear, they were up to their usual shenanigans!

Next up, we headed to LoLo and Pop's for another egg hunt, lunch and time with Nathan, Megan and Brody!


Love this pic of all of the cousins!




The Easter bunny delivers again!

We ended the festivities with confetti filled eggs, which were a smashing success!

It was a fun-filled family weekend....our last as a family of five!

Sydney's Prayer

"Dear God,

Thank you for the rain. Have a wonderful day. Amen."

She is so funny!

EGGED!

Deedee came across the idea of "egging," and we were her first victims! The girls were so excited about finding the candy filled plastic eggs in our front yard, and still have no idea who did it.

Once you have been egged, you have to pay it forward! My three decided they wanted to egg Emme and Grandad! So last night, we loaded up with our dozen plastic eggs, egg carton, and sign to leave on their front porch.

The girls (and Daddy) quickly and quietly hid 12 eggs.

Clare was going to be the one who knocked and ran, but she "got afraid." So Sydney stepped up to the plate. She rang the doorbell, knocked on the door, and then Daddy scooped her up and ran back to the car.

The girls were beyond wired after the egging had been completed!

The Waiting Game

I have officially entered the phase of pregnancy that I refer to as "I AM READY!" I don't mean that the house is clean or that the laundry is done, but I am ready to meet little Graham and begin our life as a family of six.

While we wait for the big day to arrive, we are staying busy.

The girls had a slumber party at Deedee's. I love this picture of all of them laughing.

It seems like Clare spends most of her time with a baby doll in her arms....especially since we got all of the baby stuff from the attic. The girls LOVE playing with the swing, carrier, bouncy seat, etc. Let's just hope all of these things are still fully functional when the real baby actually arrives!

We've been painting a lot.

Bunny masks and...


... the driveway!

I still have a little more than two weeks until Sir Kicks-A-Lot is scheduled to make his appearance. Surely, we can find more stuff to do to fill our days until then!

American Girl

One of Clare's birthday gifts was a gift card to the American Girl store. She had never been to the store before, but had been told how amazing it was.

The day finally came today. Emme, Clare, Izzy (the Bitty Baby) and I set out for the store. Here is Clare with Izzy.

The whole American Girl phenomenon is new to me. Holy Cow....these people have thought of everything. There is every accessory, outfit, activity, you name it for these dolls. Clare was in Heaven looking at all of her choices, running from display to display.

Here she is posing with the newest doll's life-size snow cone stand.

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the American Girl Bistro. Of course, Izzy gets her own seat...

...and her own lemonade!

After looking through all of the choices, Clare actually made her decisions fairly quickly. She selected some new onesies and a diaper bag full of little diaper bag necessities!

Of course, half the fun is showing off your new stuff to your sisters! Clare would make Sydney and Jane close their eyes before she would pull out each item from her diaper bag. "Ta-da...baby wipes!"

It was such a fun outing for Clare, and she is already asking when she can go back!

De-Railed

Jane and Sydney have been in big girl beds since they turned three, but in the past week, we have taken both safety rails off!


Sydney (below) initiated the removal, asking over and over if we could take it down. Jane was more hesitant, but finally decided it was time for hers to come off too.

They have both done great in a bona fide big girl bed. Sydney did report that she fell out of her bed twice, but only hit her head once. Casey and I had no clue this happened until she told us the next morning...guess it wasn't too serious.

Showing Her Stripes

While I am very impressed that Jane was able to get tights on by herself, I am not sure this is the best look.

At least she wears it with pride!