On the Road Again

Previously my births have taken place right before Christmas, and we have gone on big trips both Christmas breaks with pretty new babies both with Chiara and Asher.  I was actually congratulating myself on having better timing with Navy to not have to travel so soon after her birth since she would be born in the Summer.  Well the joke was on me!  She was born on Pioneer Day...

(Which we actually did celebrate)

Proof

Apparently it was necessary for me to take that to a whole new level and move all the way to Utah 5 days after she was born :)

We decided that out of all the options we considered the best would be to sell most of our things and drive out with a 6x12 trailer attached to our car. (I really did not want to fly or drive with the kids by myself so soon after having a baby via c-section). 

Bye South Carolina!

Since we were going such a distance, we decided to take it slow and make some visits along the way.

First up, we got to see Aunt Alicia and Uncle Phil along with Chris and spend some time at their beautiful home. The kids got to get some energy out in the pool! 

Next up we got to spend some time with our good friends in San Antonio.

Reunited at Chik-fil-a of course!

Chiara's bestie

We spent a day at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Garden bounty

Meeting Grandpa

Meeting Grandma

Uncle Eric was there too :)

 And finally it was on to Utah, we saw some good friends.

And  we were lucky enough to be hosted by Kelly and Lance along with Stuart's Grandma! Talk about good timing, Grandma Janet happened to be coming through on the way from a conference. Navy is her 10th great-grandchild!

We finally got to meet Daryn!

Baby swap!

It was quite the adventure, but what precious memories to see so many loved ones on our way!

Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home

I have long loved Magnolia Plantation as one of my favorite places in Charleston.  I was so glad the kids could go one last time while we lived there and help release the thousands of ladybugs on to the grounds.

Sibling Love

Since I started talking to Chiara about a new baby she has been really excited.  She even teamed up with Stuart to come up with the baby's name.

So I was pretty confident that she would do alright with a new baby around.

On the other hand I worried about this little guy.

I wondered if he understood that there would be a new baby.

I wondered if I was stealing away his babyhood by having another baby so soon.

Chiara's reaction at the hospital was just what I expected. Immediate love...she will just go hold the baby anytime and stare at her saying "You are so cute." "I love you so much."

It took Asher a bit to warm up.  His initial reaction in the hospital was pretty much to ignore the baby. He was mostly uninterested (although we did try to show her to him and explain)

Then one morning he asked to hold the baby.

melt my heart!

Since then it has been true love.  He asks to hold the baby and give her kisses every time he sees her.  He comes and tells me when she is crying. I'm so lucky that there seems to be very little jealousy or resentment from my kids.

I'm so happy to have these three kiddos.  I can't imagine life without them. They love each other and I'm so proud and happy of this family we are building together.  We are so lucky to have one another!

Worth the Wait

We are so pleased that this sweet little baby joined our family.

She cooperated with the craziness of our lives and came into the world healthy and right on schedule! She is such a good baby (although I don't know where she got those lungs...she started screaming before she was even out and can easily drown out any other noise in the house!). We are so happy that she is finally here!

Change of Address

With mixed feelings we announce that we will be heading off to Utah the last week of July.  We are relocating which will hopefully allow us to see Stuart much more often (so happy).  But we have made so many friends and have such good memories here in beautiful South Carolina!  We know we have definitely been led to make this choice, so we are waiting to see what adventures await us!