Paige's First Bath

Paige's cord finally fell off so we could give her her first official bath (I promise I've given her sponge bath's up until now). The boys loved helping and she seemed to enjoy it too.

Safetyville

Ty had safety town this week and was so excited--he had been looking forward to this for a long time. He was even happier to have so many of his friends and neighbors attending the same session (and I was happy to have people to carpool with). The last day the parents were invited to a closing ceremony and a chance to see what they had learned. It was so cute to see all the kids in the little town, riding their bikes and following all the traffic signs!!

Build A Bear for Sissy

A few days before Paige's arrival I took the boys (with my friend, Stephanie and her daughter, Sophie) to the Build A Bear store to make "Sissy" a bear.



There were so many to choose from, but they finally settled on a soft pink teddy bear.

Next, they picked out a sound--they decided on recording thier own. Now, each time you press the teddy's hand you hear the boys say, "I love you, Sissy."

Next they each placed a heart in the teddy bear and pumped the stuffing into her until it was just right.

Last, they gave the pink teddy bear a bath and put bows in her hair.

The boys each picked out a mini animal to match the Build A Bear's they made at Christmas.

It was so fun to see how excited the boys were to give Sissy her bear when they came to the hospital to meet her. Ty loved showing her the sound they created and Carter made sure the bear was with her at all times.

For my kids "first year" scrapbook I take a picture at one week and then each month with the same stuffed animal, to see how much they've grown. It was easy deciding which animal to use for Paige.

One week:

Coming Home

Ty's at camp, Carter's at the library with Grandma and Paige is asleep--finally some time time to catch up...



The boys were so excited to bring "Sissy" home to see their house. Hard to believe it was a week ago today that we brought this little girl into our home for the first time, it feels like she's been a part of our family forever.

The boys helped me change her into to her "going home" outfit (which was newborn and still huge!) and had a million questions about her belly button.

Here she is all done up and ready to go out into the world. Keith's word to describe her look: ridiculous. I think she looks adorable.

Pops, this one is for you:

Me and my gang:

First car ride. Pretty in Pink.

My sweet boys had these waiting for me when I came in the house. Thanks Keith.

Happy Father's Day, Keith

I know this is a day late, but I couldn't escape to the computer yesterday. I just wanted to take a minute to tell Keith how grateful I am for what a wonderful father he is to our children. I couldn't ask for a better dad for my family.

In honor of Keith and Father's Day, here are the top 5 reasons Keith is the best dad (since he has been a dad for five years):

1. He really PLAYS with the kids. Anyone can spend time with their kids, but Keith really gets down and plays with them--what they want and how they want.

2. He loves our boys and Paige more than anything else in the world. Keith has always put his children before and above anything else in his life.

3. He works hard to provide for his family. Keith is a hard worker and gives his work his all, but knows how to find balance between work and family.

4. He is patient. Many times when I feel like I'm at the end of my rope with the boys he can step in and handles them with patience and love.

5. He is so handy around the house and can take care of any of our needs. Our children are going to know how to be self sufficient by following his example.

I feel bad that I'm still a little needy and wasn't able to completly give him the day off like he deserves. I did however wake up early to make his favorite "pinch me cake" with the boys for breakfast.

After church where Ty sang for him we spent the day at home. Ty was his little buddy! He was so excited to celebrate Father's Day. All week he counted down to give Keith the picture he had made him. He told Keith he wanted to spend all day with him, so they went on a Father's Day bike ride and hung out together all day. It was so cute.

Photo Shoot

My talented friend, Jen, came over yesterday to take pictures of Paige and it was so fun! I'm waiting to see all of the pictures, but stole this sneak peak from her blog--Love It! Stay tuned for more!

Few More Random Shots From The Hospital

The boys hanging out in my bed, watching a movie and eating snacks from the nurses--this is the life!




"Sissy's" first headband. This was a gift from a friend. Way too big--shocking that one of my children's head is too small from something!

Totally relaxed with Daddy.

We all knew that Ty was going to be an awesome, gentle, loving big brother, but we all kind of wondered what to expect from Carter (a.k.a. "The Manimal"). He has been AWESOME. He has been so sweet and gentle and completely infatuated (sp?) and protective of his little sister! My heart is so full everytime I watch these boys with her or hear them talk about their "Little Sister" (said with such pride!).

**Some of you may be wondering what that strange white thing is on top of her head in this picture. One of the cute nurses surprised me by making a "bow" for her. I think it was made out of toilet paper or medical gauze. The thought was there, right?

Introducing...

Paige Audrey Bielozer.

It's official, as of 3 pm yesterday. No turning back now.

In Case You Were Wondering...

...if you don't have anything else to use in your hospital room, peach cobbler works too to hold in little pink bows.

The $100 Question

Thanks for everyone's comments and emails. No, "Sissy" does not have an official name yet. I think we've narrowed it down to two: Audrey or Paige. We just can't decide!!! I'm really hoping I can update you all soon!

She's Here!

"Sissy" has arrived and we are so happy to have her here!

Everything went just as scheduled, except for the slight delay in the IV. I told Keith on the way to the hospital that I was looking forward to the IV the least. I hate IV's. Well, a combination of anxiety, not eating anything since the night before (most of you know how I get if I don't eat often, especially breakfast) and "nodular veins" (whatever that means) resulted in three PAINFUL attempts to insert the IV, two burst veins, and me almost passing out three times. Keith said he has never seen someone so white. (Loni, be grateful you got to skip that part!)

Fortunately, they were finally able to get it in and it was smooth sailing from there. The spinal wasn't even as bad as the IV! We went into the operating room at 9:49 am and "Sissy" made her debut at 10:30 am. Her stats:

Born on June 6, 2008 @ 10:30 am

Weighing 6 lbs 9 oz (I guessed 6 lbs 7 oz, not bad!)

19 inches long

She immediately wanted to suck her thumb and it didn't take long for her to find it. I've never had a thumb sucker before!

Keith cut the ambilical cord.

Found the thumb again.

She has a full head of hair, just like the boys, only a little lighter. Here she found both her hands. While the were sewing me up all I could hear was her little sucking--so cute!

Ty meeting "Sissy" for the first time. I will never forget the excitement in his eyes. He was so thrilled to be meeting his little sister that he waited so long for! This boy is so sweet!!!

Ty was so excited to give "Sissy" the pink teddy bear he and Carter had made for her earlier in the week at Build A Bear. The cutest part: when you squeeze the bears hand you hear their sweet voices say, "I love you, Sissy."

The manimal on the other hand...true to Carter's nature: he walked into the room, perched himself onto the chair next to me and told me he would meet "sissy" after he at his snack. What else would Carter do?

When he was finally done with his snack Carter climbed up to meet his baby sister. He was so sweet and gentle and full of "why" questions.

There's her head of hair, not quite as dark as the boys were.