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Happy birthday, to our funny little man!

Cute As A Button

I received this package in the mail today. I don't know who sent them for Lucy, but they are darling! If you are responsible, please come forward so I can thank you properly!

1 Month Old

Getting help with a smile from big sister

Fluffy McChubbers went from 7 lbs. 11 oz. at birth to 10 lbs. 8 oz. in her first four weeks. She is now in the 75th percentile in weight and height (She's now 22 inches.).

Look Natural

They Were Only Out Of My Sight For 10 Minutes

Newborn babies require a lot of attention. Newborn babies like to eat. A lot. Frequently.

This afternoon, I suggested that Edward lay down for a nap. He has been Super Dad these last few weeks since Lucy's arrival. I take that back. He has been Super Dad the whole pregnancy, picking up what I have had to neglect due to nausea, fatigue, and, frankly, lack of mobility. He was deserving of a nap and a whole lot more. While he holed up in a corner bedroom, the kids were asked to play quietly, and I went into my bedroom to nurse Lucy for the 357th time today (because newborn babies like to eat. A lot. Frequently.).

When I came downstairs, Elizabeth yelled to me from the living room, "Mom! We have a surprise for you. But wait just a minute. I'm almost finished.... Don't come in yet.... I'm not done.... Okay! Now you can come in!"

I was hoping for a meticulously cleaned living room, not this:

Elizabeth decided to turn Mallory into a meerkat. When that proved too hard, it was decided that she was a raccoon instead. Despite the facial expression, Mallory really was a willing participant.

I immediately told the girls to wash the make-up off before it ruined Mallory's sweater or got on the furniture. This was the sad result of their attempt:

Nice work, Ladies. Sweet little Mallory had been transformed into The Joker.

Thankfully Daddy and eight pounds of Vaseline restored Mallory's face to its original cuteness.

Just Because...

...she's so fun to look at.

Mallory Loves Being A Big Sister

Mallory loves her new role as big sister and takes it very seriously. She helps me pick out Lucy's outfits everyday. This is a time consuming process as she feels like she has to find just the right outfit each day. She literally has her very own baby doll to play dress-up with.

Mallory is of course very curious about every aspect of caring for Lucy. When she was examining her in the hospital, she said, "Look! She has pink teeth!" upon seeing her little gums. I guess we forgot to tell her the baby wouldn't be born with teeth.

The first time she saw me feeding her, she asked, "How are you thirsty-ing her?" After a brief and toddler friendly lesson on nursing, she asked, "So when you drink water, how does your body turn that into milk?" Uh, I don't know dear. Bodies are wonderful things?

This morning she wanted to help me change Lucy's diaper. As I lifted up her little gown, Mallory blurted out, "Wait, I want to do the next level!" She was referring to unsnapping her little onesie. I suppose Mallory is certainly a child of the technology age!

And she created the perfect accessory for her little sister. She crafted a baby bracelet for Lucy out of Bendaroos. It looks smashing, I would say!

I can't wait to watch these two grow up together!

Merry Christmas!

We woke up Christmas Eve morning to find snow! Edward took the opportunity to play with the kids for a while, and I think they all had a great time.

That evening, Edward continued the tradition his family had when he was growing up of reading the family 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Luke 2, and now Santa and the Christ Child.

Lucy and I sent everyone to my soon-to-be 98 year-old great-grandma's house for Christmas Eve. She and I took the opportunity to take some cute photos while the house was so quiet.

Christmas morning brought with it excitement! Drew got the goat cheese from Santa that he requested.

Mallory wanted a "cheap dancing Dora doll." We don't know where she got the idea that Dora needed to be cheap, but Santa came through, none the less. He also brought her a soft little meerkat - her favorite animal.

Ross got a new Gators hat.

Elizabeth got a new camera.

Edward helped Drew log onto the web to activate all of his new spy gear.

Elizabeth and Ross tried out her new wii game, Just Dance 2. It was funny!

This little dancing machine can really groove!
The boys played with Drew's new Hex Bugs. They are so cool!

And Ross put on his new sneakers as soon as he found them. Hopefully they can keep up with this active boy!

Mallory loves to hold Lucy when she's hungry! She belly laughs as Lucy searches for an adequate food source.

Christmas was a wonderful day that wore these two little sugarplums out.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Our Best Christmas Gift

Our sweet little surprise has arrived! Lucy Ann Felker was born December 22 at 10:05 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. and 11 oz. and was 19 inches long. She is a delight! She was born on what would have been Joel's 28th birthday. So our very special little girl was born on a very special day.

Because I was almost two weeks overdue, I was scheduled to come in for an induction Wednesday morning at 5:30 a.m. My doctor asked me to take castor oil (BLEH!!!) to try to start labor on my own. He wanted me to go into labor on my own rather than give me pitocin due to the fact that I had a c-section with Ross. Well, that castor oil worked! Holy cow! I took a dose at 8:00 Tuesday night (and I could vomit now just thinking about it). We dropped the kids off at my parents at 10:00 p.m. and hit the sack at about 11:30. At 1:30 a.m. I was JOLTED awake with a strong contraction. Then three minutes later I had another big one. Two minutes later, another. I woke Edward and said we would be going in earlier than 5:30. With how quickly and intensely they were coming, he asked if we even had time to shower. I informed him that we did. We got ready and headed out the door within the hour, all the while the contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes.

We got to the hospital, and they slowed down some, although they were still intense. Things moved pretty quickly for me. I was able to get an epidural, and it was WONDERFUL! I've never had one that worked very well, so I was thrilled.

Pushing took quite a long time for me - an hour-and-a-half. As soon as she was born, we discovered why it took so long. She had the cord wrapped around her neck and twisted all through her little purple body. She was jump roping with it in there, I tell you! It took the doctor a little bit to untangle her. She was also positioned face up, or posterior. That was why I had to have a c-section with Ross. He was also face up and got stuck, so I felt very, very grateful that I was able to deliver her on my own.

The whole process was wonderful. I never thought I would say that about labor and delivery, but it really was great. I had a wonderful staff - two great nurses, my very nice new doctor, and even my beloved first doctor as well. And of course my favorite and most important person, Edward.

We feel so blessed to have this beautiful, pink, healthy tiny girl to celebrate with this tender Christmas season!

Getting the doctor's approval

We all "oohed" and "aahhed" when Lucy found her thumb at one hour old.

A very happy Mommy

And a smitten Daddy

Sweet big brother Ross

Elizabeth's wish came true!

Mallory is such a proud big sister!

Drew and his new little buddy

Drew was eager to help change her diaper.

We caught him examining her tiny hands and thought it was cute.

Getting ready to come home from the hospital

The Fabulous Felker Five

Our new family of seven