Playing in the puddles

It was, of course, Nana that took them outside to play in the rain. Not often will you find this momma taking the girls out when it's freezing cold. No thank you. I'll sit inside with the baby by the cozy fire, drinking my cup of chai.

That's not where it goes...

Talullah has not yet tired of holding baby sister. At least once a day (and much more likely to be three or four times) she begs and begs to sit and hold her. Berlyn must come and give Havanna a dozen kisses every time I sit down to feed her. I would have thought that baby #3 would get the least amount of attention, but I think I actually get to hold her quite a bit during the day. When the older girls are playing, it's the perfect time to just sit down with my bible and a hot cup of chai to snuggle with my beautiful girls. Although... I'm finding that with only two hands, either not much reading gets done, or the chai gets cold. If only I had another arm... or two.

SMILE?!?!

Little Miss Attitude

She looked so sweet sitting on the bed, I thought I'd capture the moment. As soon as I switched the camera on, away went the 'sweet' and on came the attitude.

Dress up

I love dressing up my girls every day. Honestly, it's a simple thing that brings me joy every morning. We wake up, shower, and put on the outfits I have picked out the previous night. I do their hair. Then I look at my daughters and tell them how absolutely beautiful they are. On mornings when Nick is home, the first thing they do is go show off for their daddy to get more "ooohs" and "ahhhs". Whether we're going to leave the house that day, or not.... whether they're cranky, or not... the day always starts out with a clean, fresh look.

Often, Berlyn has soiled her outfit before Nick gets home and is back in pajamas long before bedtime. And Talullah isn't a big fan of clothing in general, so she's shedding off layers every time she goes potty and ends up in nothing but panties by noon. But, first thing in the morning... boy do these girls look GOOD.

Dance Party!

Nick put on some classical music. As soon as the tunes started, the three of them began to boogie their hearts out.

So much love

Little Havanna has so much to look forward to. We are blessed to have so many family members who live close to us. On the Downey side,

Havanna has seven cousins. Six of them are also girls! It is going to be so fun to watch them all grow up together.

Havanna's first trip to the park

It was beautiful, and the forecast calls for rain ahead. Knowing this, it was impossible to stay indoors today. I worked up the energy to throw some 'real' clothes on and we all hopped in the van for a trip to the Ferndale park. Most of my time was spent on the sidelines, sitting on the park bench nursing Havanna and playing photographer. Nick swung with the girls, took a dozen turns down the slide, and decorated their hair with pretty flowers.

Such a good dad

I don't think I would have survived this past week if Nick hadn't have been able to say home with me. On top of giving birth, I had an awful sore throat and persistant cough. The doctor confirmed I had an ear infection, and Berlyn gave me her pink eye. Talullah woke up with the flu one day (thank God it only lasted 24 hours!) and poor Berlyn is trying her best to adjust to her role as 'big sister' wanting quite a bit of our attention. More specifically, our attention at 5:30 am every day. Nick should win an award for father and husband of the year. He gets up early with the girls after never enough sleep. I get up to a nice breakfast, while usually the girls are already fed. He cleans up the morning dishes and cleans them all again after dinner. What on earth will I do when he goes back to jail (haha) and I'm here alone to fend for myself 11 hours without him? Will the girls and I ever get out of our pajamas? Will we live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cold cereal? I do know this: I never can find the time to play with our daughters like their daddy does.

Snack time

Berlyn and Talullah LOVE fruit snacks. It is the best bargaining tool I've found to get them to calm down, cooperate, or hold still while we are out and about. Often, Berlyn drops these snack in her car seat and then saves them for later. Recently she has found a new way to save her precious treats. We didn't know she had them until Nick went to check on her during nap time. His first trip in, there were two stuck to the wall. The second time, there was only one. By the time she woke up... all gone!

Is she going to be spoiled?

It seems to me that by the time you have your third child, you might not give them the time, energy, and effort that you devoted to your first born. I worried that baby Havanna might be left in the dust, spending much of her day sitting in the swing, the bouncy, or the playpen, rather than snuggled in my arms. I remember thinking something similar when Berlyn was born. How could I possibly love another child as much as I loved my first. Then, Berlyn was born and immediately my heart doubled in size. Indeed I did love her just as much. And with an older sister to shower her with hugs and kisses, she received even more love. Now that my third child has arrived, I realize that there is something so precious about the love you feel for a newborn. I love this tiny baby, knowing hardly a thing about her. We have no idea what she will be like. She has never said a word to me, made me laugh, or made me cry. I have never had to discipline her or comfort her during times of pain. Yet I love her so completely, purely for the fact that she is mine. I look at her with hope and anticipation for what she will become, yet I wish I could freeze time and keep her this perfectly innocent child forever. There is no fear that I will love her any less. My heart holds a special place just for her. Plus, she has TWO older sisters that adore her and watch over her with admiring eyes. Little Havanna, my dear, you are loved. I believe we will find the the time, energy, and effort to spoil you every bit as much as your older siblings.

My little bundle of joy

My friend Megan came for a photo shoot. We were so excited to get pictures of Havanna while she was only 4 days old, thinking she'd be perfect to pose and sleeping the entire time. Instead... we spent an hour and a half trying to get the baby to sleep. There was about fifteen minutes of picture taking before we thought we'd grab Talullah and Berlyn for some sister poses. Let's just say, it was not a good day for picture taking. Children are so unpredictable. Talullah just wanted to bounce Havanna to soothe her. Berlyn wouldn't stop hitting the backdrop to hear the crinkly sounds. And by then, Havanna was wide awake again, ready to squirm. I will not be surprised if this is the only picture we get out of a three hour session. A big thumbs up to Megan for all of hard effort. She had much more patience than I did.

Of course, little Havanna did nothing BUT sleep the following day.

Havanna Amalie

Could life get any crazier? The answer is always... yes. Yes it can. After less than an hour and a half of 'laboring', little Havanna arrived safe, sound, and a picture of perfect health on March 1st at 11:56 am. As much as I pleaded for drugs, there just wasn't enough time to get any! She came rushing into the world letting out a wail and proving that she is a voice meant to be heard. Her sisters are in awe with this little bitty baby. Berlyn tilts her head, leans in close, and babbles sweet nothings to her baby sister. Talullah is so proud, so gentle, and could spend hours sitting still and holding her 'Sarah'. Nick and I... we are just madly in love with this new little bundle of joy. We look at each other and shake our heads. Wow. We went from our first coffee date to a married couple with three beautiful girls in less than 5 years. A family of FIVE?! Life is one adventure after another and we are surely enjoying the ride.

Little Havanna, we love you so much. We look at you with excitement for the future that lay ahead. Who will you look like? What personality traits will you have? We know one thing for certain. You will be our good sleeper... right...?