Middle of the Night

As strange as it may seem, I actually love my time in the middle of the night when I have to wake up and feed this precious angel.  The house is quiet and dark and there is something sacred about those moments. 

Precious Cargo

Sometimes I just sit and stare at her in complete awe...

Brilliant Artist

Joaquin came home from school the other day with this amazing drawing. He said it was his brain and I was astonished to find it really does look like one. :)

Proud mommy moment.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! The rounded up the troops and headed over to MiMi and Papaw's house on Wednesday afternoon when the temperatures began to drop. Elijah and Joaquin previously created special leaf place mats for the occasion and they were excited to have the family all together. 

This was Talia's first trip to MiMi and Papaw's house and the car was loaded up with baby necessities. It is funny how the smaller the child, the more gear they require.  All in all we made it to the house without too much traffic and still being able to see out the back window through the pack-n-play and baby bouncy.

On Thursday morning we woke up to cooking and a ring on the doorbell and a visit from my mother's parents. It was their first time to see little Talia, and it was a special union of the Great-grandparents and their first great-granddaughter.

The boys and daddy and I helped get ready for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving fell on Talia's one month old birthday! October 28th-November 28th! Auntie Melissa sent Talia this big girl bow that says "1 month" on it so celebrate her special day too!

Great-grandaddy Bill holding Talia for the first time

Joaquin gave Great-grandaddy Bill stickers as a gift for Thanksgiving

Great-Namama putting Talia to sleep

The day after Thanksgiving MiMi and Papaw took us all to the Homestead Village Festival. The boys had a blast making all sorts of homemade treats.

Joaquin made a bar of soap

He also got to experience his first horse ride!

 Talk about a happy boy! He loved the animals!

 Elijah wove a basket

Papaw and Joaquin walking around the fairgrounds

The food was all homemade! It was amazing! Elijah and I shared a huge cinnamon roll.

It was also Uncle John's first time to meet Talia. They had a long stare down conversation where she looked into his eyes and told him all that she had been up to this first month of her life. :)

Talia was precious all bundled up in her pea-coat for the occasion.

 Big brother Joaquin helped to put Talia to sleep

Daddy is all about his little girl

And Big-brother Elijah loves to cuddle with his little sister too!

Here MiMi and the boys make homemade Taffy.

(That was quite a mess, but they did it!)

 Overall we had a wonderful time with family and the boys made amazing memories that they will never forget! Now on to Christmas! :)

Bubble Baths

I'm not sure why, but little babies being bathed in the sink has got to be one of the cutest things ever!

Talia LOVES taking a warm bath in the sink, especially when Daddy does it. I think the warm water reminds her of being in the womb and Daddy's hands make her feel extra secure. 

I just had to post this because it is one of those moments, even though she gets bathed often, that you never want to forget.

Our little princess

It has been so much fun having a little girl in the family! I'm having a blast with little hair bows, lace and tutu's! Every day she seems to grow more and more alert of her surroundings. 

She is turning her head when we call her name and really trying to focus on the people around her.

So many of my friends sent sweet gifts or pass downs since I didn't have any little girl things this time around. 

Ian can't put her down. He is seriously smitten by this little girl and I think the feeling is mutual. 

He goes to sleep cuddled up next to her or with her laying on his chest. It is funny how by the time you have a 3rd child, the rules tend to go out the window. We know better than to sleep with her in the bed, but I just don't care. We know she should get used to sleeping in her bed, but we just want to hold and rock her while she sleeps.

Maybe it is because we know she is our last little baby so we are savoring each moment. I don't know. Maybe it is because Ian and I are a little older than we were when we had Elijah and Joaquin, or maybe it is just that we are more laid back about the whole thing. Whatever it is that has changed with us as parents, we are truly enjoying each moment.

Let's Announce It!

Since Talia's birth came close to the holiday season, we decided to combine our yearly Christmas card with her Birth Announcement card. Here is a picture of the front and back of the card we sent out...

One Big Family

Gamma and Gampa (Ian's parents) had previously made plans to be here during Talia's birth (well, that was when we thought she was going to be born on schedule). So, when she decided to arrive 2 weeks earlier than the planned c-section, Gamma and Gampa still came to visit and help with the boys.

It was a huge help to have them both here. Gampa is a super handy-man and was busy helping with any and every household chore I couldn't do myself and Gamma kept the boys entertained picking out things to give to the kids for Samaritan's Purse and all sorts of activities. They took the boys to school each day and cleaned and cooked for our household while Ian and I focused on Talia and just getting caught up on some much needed sleep!

We were so grateful for their visit and Talia was spoiled with new outfits galore and all the hugs and kisses anyone could ask for. I don't think she was put down for more than a few minutes at a time. Someone always wanted to hold her! :)

During their visit, I attempted to get some family pictures taken in the back yard. Here are a few of the pictures from the session with the grandkiddos.

The boys did a good job with Gamma and Gampa.

It was a fun tradition to have story time right before bed each night and when Gamma and Gampa were in town they were requested to be the guest readers every night! 

Ian and I even got a date night! It was such a wonderful blessing to be able to get out and just have fun together. We putzed around at Buffalo Exchange downtown and headed out for dinner and a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. It was great to be together just the two of us and remember how much we just love being together.

Welcome Home!

On Wed, the30th, we received the okay to head home from the hospital. I had been trying to keep myself up and moving because I remembered from the previous cesarians that it felt better to keep moving and not get stiff than if I sat in bed all day. So, after my doctor and the pediatrician said I seemed great and Talia was great we were headed home.

Ian and I missed the boys and were so excited to introduce them to their new baby sister! When we arrived home around 3pm the boys were all dressed in their Big Brother shirts Aunt Katie bought them and had the house all decorated for a Welcome Home Party.

MiMi and the boys had been preparing for our arrival home and there were pink flowers all over the house as well as pink balloons and presents to boot!

Elijah and Joaquin were so excited and they helped to open Talia's gifts.

The boys also each got a present from their baby sister to each of them. They got new books and special Halloween toys! 

It was a perfect way to share the excitement of a new baby and make the boys feel special as well.

That night MiMi got to hold her first granddaughter,

and so did each of the boys. We took a bath and got all clean and then the boys each got to hold their baby sister for the first time.

They were so happy and it was such a sweet moment for both of them.

Talia Sage Kirkland

On October 28th, our precious little girl made her appearance into the world. We were not expecting her until November 11th, but she apparently had other plans. I started to experience consistent labor contractions on Friday, October 25th and Ian and I arranged to have MiMi come stay with the boys so we could head to the hospital. 

However, after the nurses monitored my contractions for a few hours I was sent home with instructions to stay in bed (which is virtually impossible for a mother of a four and five year old) and to drink lots of water. Thinking that delivery of this little girl was still a long way off, Ian and I and the boys went back to our regular daily lives. 

It wasn't until I called my doctor on Monday to inform her about what happened on Friday (she was off on Friday and the doctor on call was the one that put me on bed rest and sent me home). My doctor was concerned about my constant contractions (still blasting me about every 4 minutes for the past 4 days straight) and told me to come to see her. 

Upon my arrival at the doctor, she told me these were definately labor contractions and my body had been preparing for the delivery of this little girl. I was now at 4 centimeters and she directed me over to the hospital at once. 

Of course I had told my mother I was fine the day before and sent her home, assuming we still had a couple weeks till this baby would be born, but boy was I wrong. Ian moved into 'taking care of business mode' and picked up the boys from school and while my mother drove the hour back over to our house to watch Elijah and Joaquin so Ian could meet me at the hospital. 

During my few hours waiting for Ian to arrive at the hospital and the doctor to get everything lined up for the c-section I got checked into my hospital room. Ironically it was the same room Ian and I were in on the previous Friday night.

The nurses remembered me and helped get my belly hooked up to monitor my continued and increasing contractions and my IV was quickly put in place so I would be able to be ready as soon as my doctor, Dr. Michel, was ready.  I was holding out on any pain medications, so I was anxious for Ian to get to the hospital and be by my side.

The nurses came in every hour to monitor my progress and by the time I dialated to 6 cm they called in Dr. Michel and said we needed to get this C-section on the road if we were going to get it done before this baby made her own apperance. (We knew we were going to have a scheduled C-section because this was my fourth cesarian.) 

The timing was perfect as Ian showed up, got suited up in his operating room garb and Dr. Michel came in for a final check up before heading into the OR. Dr. Michel has been with Ian and I for all our children's deliveries, so we were grateful to have her again and figured that was the reason Talia didn't arrive on the previous Friday when the doctor on call was not our actual doctor.

Here Ian is about to head into the operating room, just waiting for the okay that they had the spinal block in and I was ready for him to come in.

Once the spinal block was cleared and I was draped, they let Ian come in and he began capturing all the moments with the camera. I'm grateful for the tarp. Even though I had been through it three times before, I don't think I could handle seeing all that they do during the surgery.

This is a picture of Dr. Michel at work.

Talia grasped for the light as she was pulled out.

One of the sweet nurses caught this picture of Ian and I while they were washing Talia off and getting her ready to hand back over to us.

Daddy's first time holding his little girl's hand.

Such a precious moment.

A daddy's joy

Footprints

All the measurements taken. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 8.2 ounces, 18.5 inches long and was perfectly healthy in every way, even though they thought she was only 36 weeks. We never exactly knew her exact due date and how big she was because she kept changing things up. :)

This was the first time I got to hold Talia, my precious baby girl.

She was so perfect and content.

First time to open her eyes and look directly at her daddy.

After the tubal, we moved back into our room and MiMi was our first guest. Talia nursed like a champion and continued to amaze us.

Skin to skin time after she was born. I was elated, to say the least.

Talia's first bath.

I couldn't believe her little chubby cheeks and she has one dimple on her right side when she smiles!

My baby girl, Talia Sage.

Ian put a fade effect on this picture, but I love how she is holding my thumb while she sleeps. Those first few hours getting to meet her will forever be etched in my memory. We love you sweet girl and welcome you to this world. May you always be surrounded by Love!