Sisters

Before bringing Savannah Kate home I worried how Belle was going to react because she had been our baby for the past 3 years.  She had been what made us a family and has brought us so much happiness.  I wondered if she was going to be jealous or would she love her likes she loves us?  Those of you that know Belle well will not be surprised how happy she was to meet her sister, given that she's pretty much always happy and has never met a stranger. 

Whenever Savannah Kate is crying Belle always runs over to her and gives her kisses, usually a lick on her feet or her head.  Belle is always sitting pretty close by and watching over her.  She sleeps on my side of the bed and I think it's so that she can be closer to the pack 'n play and she doesn't seem to be bothered by the lack of sleep during the night.  Both girls get plenty of naps in during the day :)  We've also noticed that Savannah Kate likes to watch Belle especially when she's in her bouncy seat.  I can't wait to see them grow up together.

I wanted to post a few pictures of some of their sweet moments together.  

Complete

Savannah Kate's first week home was filled with lots of family time.  She met both sets of grandparents, Uncle Hag, Uncle Justin, Aunt Sally and her cousins Caden and Charlie.  Charlie was born just one month earlier so it was really fun to see them together.  It was amazing to see the difference in size they were.  It really showed me how fast she is going to grow up.  I don't want to miss out on anything.  I find myself just watching her sleep sometimes and can't remember what life was like without her here with us.  It feels so much more complete now.

The huge blessing that I want to mention today is that I'm getting the opportunity to stay at home right now.  Which means that I have the chance to enjoy every minute with Savannah Kate.  I'm not sure if that opportunity would have been made available if we hadn't moved to Dallas.  Moving here was hard, we were leaving everything familiar behind.  I was leaving my job, our first house (that we had done a lot of work to and always imagined having our first child there) friends and a church that we both loved.  I always knew that God wanted us to move here from the moment Hunter told me the news, but I didn't know why.  Maybe there's a big, great plan or maybe it's as simple as getting to stay home for now.  Whatever the reason, we are happy here and can't wait to see what the future holds.

Kissing Charlie

Charlie and Savannah Kate strolling through the park

Trying to show off their matching outfits, but they just wanted to sleep

First bath!



Going Home

October 6th, less than 48 hours after meeting our daughter for the first time we were released to go home.  I was excited to bring Savannah Kate home, but nervous that I was no longer under the constant care of the nurses and doctors.  Was I ready for this?  I think this was truly the first time I felt like a parent.

It was really fun to get her dressed in her going home outfit and getting her in the car seat.  We had to do some adjusting to the straps because she was so tiny.  She was now 5 pounds 14 ounces so her cute outfit looked huge :)  Once she was dressed and we started taking several pictures, we all got a little teary eyed.  She was just so perfect and I think Hunter and I both knew that we didn't deserve her. 

We were given another huge blessing when we found out that Savannah Kate passed her hearing test at 100%.  That had been a big concern for me throughout the entire pregnancy so I was extremely relieved to hear the good news.  Praising God for each of these blessings.

 All ready to go

First car ride

 Belle was excited to meet her little sister and licked her right away

Love At First Sight

I'm in love... Savannah Kate arrived on Monday, October 4th at 10:53pm after 6 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing. She was 6 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches in length. I immediately started crying the moment I laid eyes on her. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen and I couldn't believe that she was ours.

The delivery was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. Hunter was wonderful. He never left my side and he kept encouraging me through the entire process. Hunter was allowed to cut the umbilical cord, put on her first diaper and he was the first person to hold her. Seeing my husband holding our brand new daughter was truly a beautiful moment. When he brought her to me I was overwhelmed with emotions and I knew that I would forever be in love with this precious little girl that God blessed us with.



 Checked in and ready for induction

 Almost time to push - getting nervous and excited to meet our daughter



Savannah Kate is here!

 Proud Father



Finally getting to hold her

Nursery

Savannah Kate is due to arrive tomorrow! We are very excited and can't wait to meet our precious baby girl. With all that we've had going on this year with finding out about moving to Dallas and the pregnancy, it's such a blessing to know that it was all a part of God's plan. I may not always understand that plan, but I'm learning that it's in my best interest to be patient and not ask questions. I've learned so much over the past 9 months and one of those is to count my blessings which is why I chose it for the name of this blog.

Hunter and I have been doing a lot of work on our rent house in Dallas and just last week we were able to finish the nursery. I love the way it turned out and hope that she will love it too :)