Sweet baby

Here are a few more recent pics of my sweet baby Eden and proud big brother Ryan. On a side note, I have been busy ordering cute items for Eden's nursery on Etsy - Michael will get excited when he sees all of these PayPal payments going through!!!

We painted Eden's room and decorated with her new bedding before we knew whether we were having a boy or a girl. So the room definitely needs a female touch to it. I was able to find a monogrammed bow holder and of course, have ordered Eden several new bow bands and hats to wear.

I also found a really cute canvas that can be hand painted with her name and colors that will match with her new bedding. I will maybe get some pictures posted a little later showing some of the items I found!

Well, Eden is hungry again...gotta go feed!

The many faces of Eden

I had the first of many mini photo shoots at home with Eden the other day. This usually involves me propping the baby up on pillows on the couch and snapping away with my camera trying to take the best shots before she topples over.

As you can see by the expression on her face, Eden wasn't too thrilled about all of this. If fact she almost looked downright ticked off at me most of the time. I suppose I can't really blame her too much for that.

But she is going to have to adapt and get used to it, because I am a nut when it comes to photographing my babies especially during their first few months.

I haven't come across the winning shot for her birth announcement yet, so we will keep trying (much to her dismay)!

Sister, sister

These two girls are quite tight nowadays. They eat together, play together and now with the addition of Eden...share a bedroom together.

Emma attended one of her first birthday parties last Saturday at Monkey Joes and came home with all kinds of goodies, several that she is modeling in the photo above. She insisted on taking a picture of her in her new monkey mask posing with Avery afterwards.


And this is what they do on an almost daily basis...Dress up in princess clothes and swing on their tummies.

They can entertain themselves for quite a long time doing this...

Especially Avery. You will catch her running out to the swings by herself and just swinging around on her belly for an hour or so.

The two of them definitely have their mean sisterly moments where they pull each others hair or scratch one another, but it is sweet to see them interact together nicely on a daily basis.

I look forward to several years down the road when Eden will be joining in on the fun. It should be quite a sight watching the three little girls playing together as they get older.

Eden's busy day

So I honestly have been trying to take more pictures of Eden to get posted out here. It just seems like I can never find the time. So here we go...

These pretty much document a typical day in the life of Eden Presley. She hangs out in a number of baby contraptions when she isn't being held (which is pretty much all of the time!). She enjoys her car seat for a little while, moves on over to the bouncy seat for a bit, then maybe the Moses basket and every brief moment here and there, she lounges in her crib.


I took these pictures of Eden napping the other day and thought they were cute. There just isn't anything as sweet as a sleeping newborn!

As you can see, Eden's life is already very exciting! And you can count on many more pictures of sleeping babies to come!

Keeping up with the kids

Today was our first day at home since the birth of Eden without my mom here to help us - yikes! Thankfully, Michael is at home this week to help out so between the two of us we were able to keep the four of them fed and entertained.

So while Eden slept in her Moses basket (love that basket!) downstairs after her feeding, this is what the other kids got busy doing this afternoon...

Avery had a picnic on the screened porch with her tea cups and goldfish crackers...

Ryan and two of his friends from across the street enjoyed playing on the Slip and Slide (even though it started to rain!)...

And Emma put on her high heeled dress up shoes and pretended she was a showgirl (I have high hopes for this one!)...

And afterwards we all brought lunch out onto the porch and ate. So far so good. Now let's see how things go next week when it is just me and the four kids for the first time!!!

Ryan, Eden and the doctor's appointment

Ryan spent time at Papa and Nana's in Anderson, SC while Michael and I were in the hospital with Eden. He arrived back home on Monday afternoon and got to meet his newest little sister for the first time.

He is a proud big brother and is very sweet to her. He is constantly doting on her and exclaiming, "She is the cutest baby!"

Tuesday morning was another big day for Eden as she had her very first doctor's appointment. They schedule all new babies' appointments first thing in the morning which is appreciated by parents everywhere. There is nothing like getting very little sleep the night before and having to awaken to an alarm so you make sure you don't sleep through your appointment!

But we got up and ready and Eden got a clean bill of health. She will not go back for another two weeks.

One of the items Ryan brought back from his stay with Papa and Nana was a book about knights which included a chess game and some (very minor) instructions. He has been itching to play his new chess game each evening and unfortunately, none of us have ever learned to play chess.

Grandma spent Tuesday afternoon with Ryan and they spent some time at the library and out to lunch. While they visited the library they checked out a new book that explains in more detail the rules of chess, so they were able to set up the chess board and play a round. Of course Ryan won.

Home sweet home...

We were discharged from the hospital today so we got Eden decked out in her "coming home" outfit and left the hospital.

Emma and Avery seemed excited to see all of us and were anxious to get close to the baby. I think they are going to make great big sisters!

My mom fixed us a wonderful dinner of basil chicken lasagna, salad, rolls and brownies for dessert - delicious! And I was able to lay down and take a nap this afternoon which was so nice. It is fabulous having someone helping out at home with the kids and the house and I am so thankful I have wonderful parents to do just that!

I am heading upstairs to get a little sleep so I am able to wake up and handle the middle of the night feeding/s! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes! We are all doing very well.