Gardening

We have been doing a little gardening lately. I know nothing about plants and typically have a black thumb, but I am enjoying gardening in our yard at the new house. It has such potential and I can see it from a design perspective. In my head the yard looks beautiful - like this house... 

and this backyard...

Here is our house below. The front yard is full of white azaleas. It was beautiful to see this spring (and a nice surprise as we didn't know what color they would be. I like the clean look of the all white!). This iphone picture doesn't do it justice.

Here is Anne in front of some azaleas showing off my old dress. She was very proud!

More wild white azaleas. 

And here is an after pic. The azaleas in the front bed had grown too tall and "leggy". After doing some online research I decided to do some drastic pruning and this was the result. Hopefully the guy at Southern Living is right and I haven't killed them all! We also planted five new hydrangea bushes you see along the front and added some ferns. I can't wait for it to all fill in :-)

Here is one of several piles of my azalea cuttings. Yikes!

 And more after. The brown sticks are what is left of the azaleas...

 We also planted three Jasmine to climb up the columns on the side of the house. I can't wait until they make lovely flowering arches. Hopefully it won't take too long to grow...

and look like this!

Fingers crossed I can keep everything alive!

*all images not my own are taken from my Pinterest "Secret Garden" page

Lately

Anne and Bob have really started to play together lately. It is so cute. They love to play chase around the house - running and screaming with laughter. It is loud, but adorable. They were separated for over a week when Cooper came home from the hospital. They each went and stayed with the different Grandparents for some one on one time. I did not think about how much they would miss each other. It is several weeks later and Anne still talks about missing Bob when he was away... Bob is a climber and now likes to climb up and sit on top of Anne. She thinks it is funny for a few minutes, but then wants him off when it starts to hurt. He is not light!

Bob actually sat still for a minute to watch a movie!

until he decided climbing on Anne would be more fun... She was still trying to watch the movie!

Sweet Cooper is doing great. He is now 8 lbs 10 oz (6 1/2 weeks old)! Overall he is a good baby. He still has reflux/gas and every now and then will be fussy because of it. I am still giving him a little rice cereal in a bottle before I nurse him to try and help the reflux. Here are some recent pictures of him.

Due Date

Today is Cooper's due date! He will be 6 weeks old tomorrow. Time is flying by... I love having him home with us. Anne adores him. She is my "big helper" and is great if I give her a job to do. Bob loves all the baby gear, but luckily is not that in to the baby. He tries to swipe Cooper's paci's and bottles - always keeping me on my toes!

We have had some pretty afternoons and the kids love being outside to play. Cooper naps like a champ wherever he is.

We like to stroll to the park. I'm sad walking is now a two man job. I could get a triple wide stroller, but that seems a little much. I think I'd rather just spend that money on a babysitter and leave one child at home :-)

Anne and Bob have a new water toy that is a big hit!

I survived my first evening having all three by myself. Cooper nurses right during dinner/bath time for Anne and Bob making it tricky. It was chaotic, but I did it!

We have had just a couple of nights of crying. I had forgotten how brutal a screaming baby in the middle of the night is! I can tell he has gas/reflux when he cries like that and is better if I hold him upright. That just means I don't get to sleep... 

But usually he just snoozes away and looks like this...

Cooper spends most of his time in this "rock-n-play sleeper" from Fisher Price. I did not have it with the other two and wish I had. It is the best! It keeps him at a slight angle which is great for his reflux and it is light weight and folds, so I carry it all over the house. 

I love my little family of five!

First few days...

We have had visits from family to see Cooper at home...

Anne LOVES her little brother. She constantly wants to hold him. She will just sit and watch him and hold his hand while he sleeps. So sweet!

Cooper is really starting to fill out. He is now 7 lbs 6 oz!

We are adjusting to life at home with Cooper. He is a really good baby most of the time. He is on a 4 hour schedule from the NICU. He is like clockwork with it. He will eat, wake and then sleep until time for the next feeding. Will and I have laughed at how easy only one child is :-) But 2 out of the 3 nights home he has had awful constipation/gas and just cried and cried. So pitiful. Last night he would sleep if I held him sitting up but would wake up and fuss as soon as I put him down. The Dr suggested we cut back on the amount of rice cereal we are giving him and hopefully that will help. I forgot how brutal a screaming baby in the middle of the night is! Luckily my in-laws are keeping Bob this week and my parents are keeping Anne. So nice to be able to nap when Cooper naps... He is just precious and we are loving having him home!

Cooper is home!

Exactly one month from his birthday on May 2nd Cooper was able to come home from the NICU today! It has also been 40 days since this journey began and I was admitted to the hospital for bed rest. God is so good! 

Here is Anne meeting Cooper for the first time.

She is obsessed! She was more excited than she was on Christmas morning. It is so sweet!

Here is Bob seeing Cooper for the first time. He was intrigued!

They both love the baby

Our first picture as a family of FIVE!

Sweet big sister!

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers over the last 40 days. It has been a long journey and the support of our wonderful family, friends, and church helped us survive. We feel very blessed to have this healthy 6 lb 15 oz baby boy home with us. We love you Cooper! 

Now say a prayer for us as we try and manage life with three small children at home! :-)