First month

What a first month it was! Lucas came home from the hospital when he was three days old. He was very healthy and had only lost a little weight at 7 lbs. 5 oz. He has a very sweet and patient nature. He likes to eat--just like the rest of the boys in my family. He was a non-stop eater his first month. He would wake every 2 to 3 hours and sometimes nurse for 2 to 3 hours. At his one month check up he weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. After much deliberation and heart ache (because I wanted to nurse him exclusively) we decided to supplement formula to allow more time for me to give to Caleb and Trevor. Caleb and Trevor LOVE their little brother. Caleb wants to kiss him non-stop and Trevor wants to hold him and play with him. Having three boys has proved more challenging than two, but Caleb and Trevor entertain each other so much that I can't complain.

Here Luke is being weighed just after his birth. I love this picture. Our new little boy.

Trevor was so happy to meet baby Luke.

Grandma showing the big brothers how to carefully hold their little brother.

The boys.

Lucas sleeping in the hospital bassinet...what a sweetie.

The excitement on Caleb's face gives me such joy.

Grandpa and Caleb checking Luke out.

Grandma and Trevor with Luke.

Mommy and Luke.

Daddy and Luke

My doc and Luke

This was right before we left the hospital. His outfit was so big on him!

We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's on the way home and Luke slept in his car seat the whole way. Those were the days!

Caleb adores this little boy!

Dr. Dickey (the boys' pediatrician) and all the boys.

Daddy holding Luke after his first bath.

Luke in his bouncy seat.

Trevor giving Luke a kiss.

Caleb likes to hold Luke...even when nobody is looking (kind of scary).

Baby Luke in his crib.

Sleeping in the bouncy seat.

The first official bath. Luke cried in every bath he took his first month!

Caleb and Trevor playing in the bassinet. Silly boys.

Daddy sleeping with Luke. So sweet.

Luke playing on Mommy's lap.

We took the boys to the Fort Worth botannical garden. They loved running around and feeding the fish. It was a great time until we started to go home and realized we were broken down in Grandma's old van! We had to wait on Grandma and Grandpa and Brad to save us.

After Luke was a week or so old he decided to stop sleeping in his car seat for the most part. This was a special day though because he slept almost the entire time we were at the botannical garden in his car seat. We caught him smiling in his sleep/ His real smiles started coming around 4 and 1/2 weeks.

We know we are blessed to have three healthy beautiful boys. I won't lie...the first month was very hard. There were lots of ups and downs with post partum depression for me. Thank God I had lots of friends and family help me through it. I don't know what I would do without all of them, and without our God. Three boys is a challenge, but I think I'm up for it!

Lucas Joseph

He is finally here!!! He was born early Monday morning (2:17 a.m.), February 9th and he weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. Lucas was stubborn and did not want to show us his beautiful face before or by his due date, which was on February 5th. My doc scheduled an inducement for Sunday night. By 9:30 p.m. they started the pitocin. Since I was doing this overnight they were starting me slowly and expected the actual birth to happen mid-morning on Monday. When I went in I was dialated to a full 3 and having contractions every 30 minutes, so I was ready to go. With the pitocin they gave me ambien to help me sleep. It knocked me out immediately! When I woke up around one in the morning my water broke, and the contractions got pretty intense. I asked for my epidural and the doctor showed up immediately. The drugs kicked in just in time for me to give birth. I pushed through two contractions and Luke was put onto my tummy so I could hold him. It was the easiest birth that I have had! I was so nervous, but I feel so blessed to have had such a great experience.
Here Luke is just minutes old laying close to his mommy!
This is way later that morning with our new little one. What a sweet baby he is.

Grandma Libby brought the big boys by. Their pre-school gave them big brother t-shirts which was a wonderful surprise. The boys were so excited to meet their new brother. It was so sweet. Libby took them to the store to pick out gifts for each of them to bring. They ran down the hallway when they saw Michael. I could hear Trevor yelling "Daddy" and as soon as he got to the door he said, "Look what I got for baby Yuke." That's what he calls him "baby Yuke." Too cute. Caleb was just overwhelmed with happiness. He couldn't wait to hold him and give him a kiss.

We are so blessed and happy to have this new little miracle in our lives. He is so sweet and loveable. I will post more when I have a chance!

Our Christmas

Our Christmas was busy, but we felt very blessed. Although I was determined to be in our own home on Christmas day, we did not meet that deadline. I can't complain though. My very hard-working husband has been working non-stop to prepare our home to be move in ready. He has spent many sleepless nights and weekends trying to make our house perfect.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Meierhofer's. We always eat together, exchange gifts, and try to play a game before the kiddos have a melt down. This year Libby suggested the kids start opening gifts early to spread out the fun. Below, Caleb is playing with one of his gifts he opened early...a cars art set from Aunt Sarah.

Trevor received a singing puppy from Aunt Sarah, which you can tell he LOVES! He is dancing along to the music.

Trevor and cousin Elizabeth are both checking out their singing animals. We can't wait until Aunt Sarah has her own children for us to buy such sweet (loud) gifts for! :)

The four oldest kids eating their dinner. They are all growing up way too fast. Little Lydia will be sitting at the table with them next year.

Grandpa and Trevor taking a break to horse around.

Caleb was so much more patient this year with opening his gifts. He was much more appreciative as well. He loved everything he got.

Trevor really enjoyed opening gifts this year.

The boys and their sweet cousins.

We all went outside after opening gifts to spread the "reigndeer food."

Uncle Adam having a serious chat with Trevor.

Making cookies for Santa

Christmas morning.......Santa brought the boys just what they asked for. A puppy! Caleb was so excited, he had pure joy just pouring out of him.

Dash is our puppy's name (after the really fast boy in the movie "The Incredibles"). Dash is smart and fun, and the boys love him.

Daddy and the boys enjoying Christmas morning.

After the excitment of a new puppy and opening a few gifts from Mommy and Daddy, we headed out to my grandmother's house in East Texas. The boys love playing with their Uncle Dustin.

My Grandma and my Mom.

After eating lunch at my Grandma's and hanging out with Dustin and Misty we headed to our new house to check out the new floors and paint. The boys love the new house. Eventually, we will quit calling it the "new house," but since we haven't settled in yet I guess that is what we will call it.

Here, Michael is showing his parents what all he has done. New sheet rock, new paint on the walls, new paint on the cabinets, and new floors installed. Lots of progress!

We headed back to Mike and Libby's and finally made our gingerbread house that I was determined to make by Christmas!

What's more fun than making a house out of candy, icing, and cookies?

Caleb did most of the work, and he was proud of what a great job he did!

Since Christmas, Michael and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on the first of January. It was very laid back, but wonderful to spend some down time with my hubby. We are now living in our house, but still slowly moving in. The storage building is still pretty full, but Michael is determined to have a place for everything and not clutter this house. I want to get it over with, but it is hard for me to say much since I am doing the least of the work. I am organizing things as he brings plastic bins home. The baby's room is about halfway done as well as the boys' room.

Last Wednesday I went to the doctor to find out I am dialated to a two and that I could last another month, or go into labor any day now. My doctor offered to induce me, but I think I will take all the time I can get to prepare for his arrival. This has been a good pregnancy, so I don't want to rush his birth. I had another check up today, and there is no change. Hopefully he will hold out a few more weeks. I am anxious to meet him and hold him for the first time. His heart rate today was 156 beats per minute and my weight gain is a whopping 31 pounds. I better lay off the sweets!

We hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas and New Year.