This, That & Life with Lucy!

Well the past week or so has passed all too quickly in a very happy blur...Lucy is now 11 days old & we can't imagine life without her. Everyone wants to take turns holding her & kissing her & loving on her...even Drew's demeanor changes when he sees her, "Baby soft!" he will say as he gently rubs her head or "Mommy, baby cying! Mommy, Mom-my!" when he hears her start to cry. And, I suppose when you are number five, you get the benefit of lots of loving & being held...but you also are pretty much thrown right into "the routine" upon coming home from the hospital...but so far Lucy has adjusted very well & seems to be liking the ride! Here's a little look back at the last 10 days or so...
Note: Please forgive the many blurry photos below...I started noticing that the camera was acting funny in the hospital...and it turns out that the lens went bad and would not focus properly. So, Jeff had to go out on Drew's birthday & buy a new camera lens after it was determined that ours could not be fixed. This really wasn't a week we could be without a working camera! But I did manage to get a new, upgraded lens out of the whole ordeal ;-) And I pinky promise that I didn't drop the old lens or anything!

Some very eager greeters when we arrived home from the hospital! Lucy was just over 24 hours old! 

 Darcy is a sweet & tender little mommy, always very close to Lucy & wanting to hold her or touch her. 

 Sophie is a seasoned big sister!

 My 3 girls!

 Drew was just busy with a spray bottle of water cleaning the windows...

 Oh, BABY! I'm pretty sure he squirted Lucy with the water, too...just to make sure she was squeaky clean!

 Darcy loving on Lucy

 Drew loving on Lucy...we had to make sure he understood that you can't pick a real baby up by the head...as is his standard way of carrying a baby doll around!

 Lucy needs a hat!

 Now Drew needs the hat!

 Morning snuggles...it was so nice that Jack was on spring break last week...no early morning rushing off to school...instead he crawled in bed with us every morning to have some one-on-one snuggle time with Lucy.  Truly precious moments!

 Sunday morning, Lucy's first day home...each big sibling wanted some snuggle time with Lucy before Jeff took everyone to church. Lucy & I stayed home to rest a little. 

Drew being super sweet! 

 I'm not sure what Drew was doing here...

 ...but it turns out that Lucy didn't like it so much!

 Sweet snuggles with Sophie

 Such a proud big sister!

 Jack is a pro at the big brother gig!

 Lucy is glad for a moment's peace!

 Sunday evening we had planned to stay home from church, but we remembered that Sophie's little choir was singing in the service. She has been working diligently on the two songs and we didn't want her to miss the performance. We knew the choir would sing at the very beginning of the service, so we decided to all go to see her sing & then we left to come home. 

 Sophie & whole choir did a fantastic job! 

 Proud big brother! 

(And, hey look, no more blurry photos! Testing out the new camera lens!)

 Sweetness!

 Sure glad we can focus in on all that cuteness!

 Hey, it's Drew's 2nd Birthday!!! 

We were blessed by a sweet friend who brought us a yummy meal for dinner! Chicken & mac-n-cheese, I am sure it is exactly what Drew would have picked for a birthday meal, his favorites & he ate it up! 

 Sweet Lucy three days old!

 Sophie worked hard to make the house festive for Drew. She made a special birthday sign for him...

 ...and then she carefully arranged all of the presents & some balloons to make the living room party pretty...I seem to have a little party planner on my hands! 

 Drew praying...total sweetness!

Lord, we thank you for the gift of our sweet big boy, Drew!! 

We had a little family party with the grandparents. 

There was no shortage of presents & the big kids were happy to "help" Drew open them!  

 The first present Drew opened was a little musical microphone from Jack...he would not put it down...we could have stopped there & I think he would have been totally happy...but wait, there's more!

 A BIG dump truck & wheel barrow from Pop & Nana! How fun are these going to be outside this summer!!

 And a DRILL! Oh.my.heart...this boy LOVES him some power tools! Thanks to Aunt Kelly, Uncle Tom & the cousins for finding this perfect gift!!

 Drilllllll! Drill! Another present that he has not wanted to put down...Drew slept with this drill that night!

 Still holding the drill, but checking out his other most.favorite.thing.ever...balls & bats...yes, a t-ball set! 

Drew was continually picking up all of the balls & putting in the dump truck & then moving them to the wheel barrow & then to a chair. He is totally a boy's boy...give him a truck, ball or tool & he is one happy guy! 

 Practicing his swing...it wasn't too bad, actually!

 The girls have confiscated the wheeled toys & are using them for, gasp, baby dolls! LOL!

 Back to the microphone & now it's time to sing Happy Birthday...

 ...and blow out the candles on that delicious chocolate cake!! And how's this for a second birthday memory...I guess it was a mistake letting Drew open presents first...because our boy who looooves "choc-at" did.not.want.cake! He literally screamed when we tried to put him in his high chair & kept saying "No cake!" All he wanted to do was play with his new toys, bless his little heart! 

 Lucy enjoys hanging out with Nana at the party

 I managed to snag Drew for one quick pic with the birthday boy...but then he was off again to play with his toys!

 Drew wants Lucy to sing...

 ...and Lucy thinks it is very funny...

...until it is very quickly not funny anymore!

 Last Tuesday my mom was kind enough to come & watch the kids so that I could attend my morning Bible study group with sweet Lucy! It was fun to get out, but by the time we got home, we both needed a little rest!

 Darcy is always quick to find me & ask if she can hold the "new baby" 

 She wanted me to take this picture of her making a silly face while holding Lucy! 

 Jack also doesn't pass up an opportunity to love on little Lucy

 For a tough guy, I sure love his tender heart!

On Friday, Darcy's class had a "circus day" where they could dress up like their favorite circus character. Isn't Darcy the cutest clown you've ever seen or what?!! 

 Friday night we had our first family movie night with Lucy! Before we put on the movie the kids all were playing & dressing up in this old dinosaur costume...and everyone had to have a picture taken with the costume on! (above, Dinosaur Darcy)

Dinosaur Sophie

 Dinosaur Jack

 Drew could care less about the dinosaur...he found a hard hat & more tools!

 All the kids ready for the movie to begin! 

What a precious bunch if I do say so myself, we are so grateful for five precious blessings!  

And on Saturday morning we headed to the fields to support Jack who is playing flag football this season. Jeff is taking a season off from coaching, but he is filling in for a few weeks while the coach is out of town. 

Drew enjoyed snuggling with Pop while they watched the football game!

Whew, it was a busy, wonderful week...mixed in with everything above we also managed a few other fun outings that I didn't take pictures of...we ran out on a rainy evening for a special treat...frozen yogurt! We all stayed warm & toasty in the car watching a movie while Jeff made two trips into the TCBY to get frozen yogurt & all the fixings for everyone! Then, we dressed in green & enjoyed free kids meals from Chic-fil-a on St. Patrick's Day which we ate as a picnic outside! With Jeff home from work, Jack home from school, and Lucy finally here, last week was all about family & being together & it was great! 

And now, once again, I'm tired, I have lunches & snacks to pack, and I know a sweet someone who will want her midnight feeding soon...so I will wrap this up until the next time that I find a few minutes to update you on what's new! I will try to keep the posts & pictures coming with some regularity because Lucy is changing & growing each day...we are loving every minute & I don't even want to complain about the sleepless nights (though I am definitely tired!) because I know that all to quickly she will be sleeping through the night & I will be wondering where my tiny newborn went...perhaps it is the hormones & I'm being overly sentimental...but every day is a precious gift & my heart is so full of joy & thanksgiving! Joy & peace to you, as well!