main source of entertainment

You never know what Mike's going to pull out of his bag of tricks, or in this case his bag of potential costume material for Declyn.

Who needs pants when you have hulk-sized gloves to keep you warm? 

We stopped by one of those play areas at the mall and when Mike got out his phone Declyn was kind enough to strike three different poses for him to capture. 

so many visitors, so little time

Parker, Joe and Jamie came up to meet Keegan and of course get some quality family time in.  The older they get, the more amusing it is to watch Parker and Declyn interact and play together.  During this visit, sharing was a big topic that was continually addressed. 

A close family friend also stopped by to meet the little bugger. 

And a few days later he got to meet his Aunt Kaitlyn for the first time. 

sleepy baby

He loves to touch his face while snoozing. 

Snuggling his Little Giraffe blanket. Softest. blanket. ever. 

Lying on Mike's chest is pretty much a guarantee of eyes closed, out cold. 

But when he is awake I'm seeing a lot of familiar faces -- especially the kissy face seen here. 

we are family

This man has been our saving grace since getting home from the hospital.  There hasn't been a diaper he hasn't changed or a toy he hasn't played with on the floor. I mean who else holds two kids at one time?

My sister in law captured this beautiful moment; Declyn was going in for kisses for Keegan.

Helping Daddy do the dishes after dinner.

A day of seventy degree weather meant a day outside.

My current workout plan -- chasing a toddler and going down slides. 

already taking notes

I swear, every time he's in this chair he produces a new move.

And now he has an extra audience member to soak it all in.

Until Keegan falls back to sleep...

and is no longer interested. 

welcome home, Keegs

We were barely through the front door when Dec had his arms out, requesting to hold Keegan.  What you don't see is that this lasted for about 30 seconds before Declyn just up and tried to get off the couch, leaving poor Keegs to barrel roll to the side.

Mike seriously has a gift when it comes to swaddling babies.

While both dogs were curious about this newest arrival, Fenway is definitely the protector, checking in on his every noise. 

Poor babe with his swollen eyes. The doctors think he's allergic to the vaseline-type ointment they put on babies eyes right after they're born. 

Life is better with snuggles from your dad.

Checking in.

Waiting to nurse.  How can you not love that constantly changing face?

This is one of my favorite pictures of Keegan (courtesy of Alyssa, his Godmother).  From the chin lean to the fur hat (that he clearly has to grow into), I love everything about this picture. And about him.

when three becomes four

Our attempt at a first family photo of four.  It went amazingly well.

Checking out little bro.

Warming up to the little guy.

But still, not thrilled. 

Despite being an unflattering picture of me, there's something about this I just love so much.

ten fingers, ten toes

A little sneak peak at my social media debut of our newest addition. Every part of him is more precious then the previous.

Hospital bed snuggles with a swollen face and some chunky cheeks.

Pretty much the only hat that actually fits, so brace yourself for its multiple appearances. 

Not even 24 hours old and super alert.  Actually, he wasn't even 10 minutes old and my dad was commenting on how he just stared at my face, wide awake.

The first of many Daddy and Keegan time.

Showing off those chompers mid-yawn. 

happy birth-day, Keegan!

At 38 weeks the doctor said we could be induced once we hit 39.  We decided to wait things out to see if Keegan would come on his own, but at the day before our 40 week appointment, we decided to give them the green light to go ahead and be induced.


I still can not believe that we had a baby born on its actual due date.

We checked into the hospital around 7 AM (after Mike got his Starbucks run, of course) and decided to kill some time with a selfie.

By 8 I was hooked up to my IV, munching on some ice chips (which were pure Heaven in my mouth) and by 9 the epidural was in and we were in business. 

I can not even put into words how amazing my induction experience was.  Not only did I not feel anything, but my parents were in the room chatting it up until the doctor came in around 12:15, checked me and I was 10 cm dilated.  She asked me if I was ready to get this baby out and that it would only take 1-2 pushes.

Eight pushes later, we got to meet our son.

Born at 12:35 PM, he weighed in at 8 lbs and 12 oz, measuring 20.75 inches.

Everyone (including the doctors and nurses) couldn't get over how big he was, and kept asking where I was hiding him during my pregnancy.  Maybe it was the drugs, but he didn't look that big to me.  I also have no concept of weight, ha.  

The first body parts to come out were his head and left arm and the doctor immediately made a comment about how big his hand was, so I knew we were in for a treat.

I am still in shock that an induction was as easy as it was.  I told Mike that from now on if our babes are still cooking at 39 weeks, induction it is!  Granted they won't all be the same, but I am willing to take that risk after experiencing what I did with Keegan.

The hospital hooked him up with a little bowtie action.

This was one of the first encounters Declyn had with his baby brother, and of course he wanted to label his body parts.

He definitely didn't know what to make of this little person, and was confused as to why we were no longer pointing at my belly when talking about Keegs.

But give him some food and a pair of sunglasses and all is well in the world. 

jammin'

This sweetheart completely entertained himself while I was getting ready this morning. What you can't see is at one point he lined up all of my containers on the windowsill, as well as took my jewelry boxes and stacked them on top of each other.  His sidekick, Cali, enjoyed getting her sun on while he behaved like the perfect gentleman. 

I took full advantage of my mom not having to watch the boys today and Declyn enjoyed the one-on-one time he got with her and Nanny.

Mike lets Declyn listen to music via our phones, and of course this one quickly caught on as to how to do it himself. 

With Dec dropped off at my moms house the night before our induction, Mike and I decided to take advantage and have a little date night.  While we were out to dinner, I checked my phone and this was what my screen looked like.  Needless to say, it put the biggest smile on my face.

A little extra TLC before we went to go drop him off for the night.  This was the last time we were a family of three and he was my only little man.