Week One

Here I go.....FINALLY documenting our first week with Everly.

Everly's FIRST picture ever right after she came out and Brooks was cleaning her up. 

Everly with her doctor.........her very PROUD doctor.

All right........ready for bed. She was exhausted.....or maybe she just didn't like the oversized hat.

I mentioned the kids were so excited to wake up to Everly in the morning. Brooks grabbed my phone and video-taped when Royce and Kellyn came into our room in the morning and their reactions.

HERE

I LOVE LOVE this picture of Royce with Everly. It almost looks like she is smiling in it and of course, Royce is smiling.

Kellyn with her little sister. In this picture you can really see her chubby face.

The girls came in next.....they were REALLY excited.....TOO excited to care about holding the baby's head, I guess.

Aleeya's face says it all.

Emerson came in and thought she was so cute. We told him her name was "Everly" and he said, "WHAT?!?! That's a HOWWIBLE name!" and he stomped out.

Then he came in later all smiles and ready to hold her. Seriously......

Good ol' Camden.....he has the SOFTEST spot for babies.

Just admiring her.

My bookends.......

We have 9:00 a.m. church and it was Easter Sunday. Brooks told the kids they couldn't hold her again until they were ready for church. That was the QUICKEST Emerson had ever gotten ready.

I wanted a picture of all my kids before they went to church. They ALL wanted to hold Everly so they had to pick a number between one and twenty.

Bronson won.

All EIGHT of my children..........EIGHT?!?!?!? Everly is 9 hours old here.

They all left for church while Everly and I slept.

I tried to capture some of the many faces of my sweet girl during her first few days.

The first-day-swollen-face-cheek-chub look

Her sleepy-long-Smith-kid-finger look

The my-older-sister-can't-keep-her-hands-off-me look.

Seriously, SO SO many pictures have Kellyn's hand in them.

The Scowl

The Monkey Face

Her Chillin' look

Her I'm-not-even-12-hours-old-and-you-put-a-bow-ON-ME?!?!?! look

I LOVE LOVE LOVE baby hands and feet. I love it how their feet are so soft but have the wrinkled look.

And their hands.......oh, how I love them. Iris asked why her hands "looked old" and Camden said because they turn like raisins just like his do when he's in the bath for too long. Yep, that's about it.......here are Everly's sweet water-logged-raisin-turned hands.

This was when she was one day old (hence the red-skinned look) but I just love how the kids could sit and stare at her.

And in the hospital I can't just ask the nurse to say, "Hey, can you just hand out in here with the baby so I can take a shower?" like I can at home. Camden is always MORE then happy to snuggle Everly and "protect" her to make sure Royce/Kellyn/Iris don't get her alone. ;)

But Iris IS very trustworthy if Everly needs company. I asked Iris if Everly could watch her play dolls and this is how they were for about 30 minutes.

Here is Everly in her VERY first Family Home Evening. She was our honorary guest.

Like I said, they could just sit and stare at her.....

I don't think Royce has ever heard a baby with the hiccups but for some reason it REALLY cracks him up. I took a video of him laughing over it. It's so funny.

HERE

This is BIG!!!! She took a bottle so easy. Didn't even question what was in her mouth. YAY!!!!

 And the other kids are excited to have a new something to "play" with. Here they are with their new trumpets......hope they enjoyed it while it lasted because this was their LAST time playing with them too.

Joining our dinner.....

 Milk drunk......she's an addict

 To celebrate her 1 WEEK BIRTHDAY, Brooks went and got doughnuts and OJ for breakfast.

Happy 1 Week to my angel.......my sweet sweet most perfect angel.

"Everly" in Love

Introducing our newest princess

 (although we all think it feels like she's been with us forever because "she just fits"):

Everly Esther Smith

9lbs. 4oz.

11:00 pm - April 19th

You know when you wake up and just know that the baby is going to come that day? Well, I had that moment Saturday morning....in fact I even carb-loaded by making pancakes in the morning and all. Then you line up a babysitter because you think it's time to take the kids over in the morning and tell Brooks he MIGHT not make his basketball (coaching) game at 9:00a.m. on account of having a baby and all.
Then everything just stops. Even a walk in the rain to the grocery store to buy pineapple (apparently it's supposed to help with efacement.......old wive's tale, I know, but I was going to do anything) and 6 other bags of heavy things to carry home didn't help get things started again. Oh well......at least the Easter Bunny came Saturday morning so the kids could just eat candy all day because I hadn't really PLANNED on making lunch or dinner because....ya know, I was going to have a baby and all. I guess Miss Everly had other plans, so I decided to make new ones and invite our friends over for shaved ice that night. We had a great time visiting and it kept my mind off my belly that kept crying-wolf (or maybe WASN'T crying wolf at this point). They left at 8:30pm. We cleaned/mopped up shaved ice spills and the kids were in bed by 9:00pm.
Looking back at the time frame of how everything panned out it sure is crazy that Everly had arrived by 11:00pm......and awesomely caught by her dad......perks of having a loving husband + a competent doctor all wrapped into one husband. It was like nothing else I had experienced and quite a moment the three of us shared......Brooks, Everly and myself......something that will always just be our's. (Gosh, I'm tearing up typing this......I'm such a sap)
There were moments of sweetness, intensity, laughter, I-wanna-die-pain, meaness (apparently I was kinda mean to Brooks at many points? Yea, I don't remember that), tenderness, stillness, togetherness and definite did-that-sound-just-come-out-of-my-mouth moments but every one of them are special and worth it.

By midnight everything was cleaned up in our bedroom, I had showered, the baby was fed and there was no trace of anything of the momentous event that just occurred. We settled into bed and fell right asleep.......one of the most restful, peaceful and content sleeps I've had in a long time.

No one was more surprised by the new arrival then the kids when they woke up on Easter morning to find their new sister AT HOME!!!! Obviously when they went to bed the night before they had no idea. But I'll post pictures of all those things later. I've been enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of being home, being spoiled and being so in love that my darn eyes have a hard time keeping dry.

Emerson's Birthday

I can't believe this sweet face has grown up and is now 8 years old!!!!

He's had me since Day 1 and STILL claims to be my "only snuggle buddy"....DEFINITELY a Momma's boy.

He's such a happy and friendly kid in a nature and has always been such a good sport!!!

See? (GOSH!!!! That smile STILL gets me!)

Well, now that I think about it, he has a tough time losing (like his mom) and he has so graciously taught the paraplegic melting to Royce now....but I STILL wouldn't want a day w/o experiencing this boy's natural happiness for life.

Emerson was so sweet in not wanting me to do "too much work" since I'm "about to have a baby". He REALLY wanted a Pokemon pinata (Pokemon has taken over our home.......unfortunately) and handed me 6 different cards to look at. I could CHOOSE which one I wanted to make for his pinata. haha.

I went with Sneasel.

Emerson just could NOT wait to get his hands on it and paint it after I had it made.

 He actually painted the whole thing by himself and I just added the eyes and yellow-diamond-things-who-knows-what-they-are. He was soooooo happy with it and it made it all worth it to me. (there's a little part of me that has a hard time turning over something that took a while to make into someone else's hands!!!)

On the day of his party (actually a hour before) Iris found a box turtle in our backyard. It was PERFECT timing......because it entertained the younger ones the whole party that I barely saw them! (notice there are no pictures of them at the party......literally, they were entertained and not ever by the action)

Emerson wanted his friends over for spaghetti and ice cream sundaes. I'll tell you what (besides Camden) these boys can PUT DOWN SOME SPAGHETTI!!!!

Of course he was happy with all his presents from his friends.....seriously....his smile.....

His party was last Thursday but his actual birthday was yesterday, the 14th. So that's when the family gave him a cake and his junk box. He couldn't WAIT to open up his box!

Here is Emerson with his OVERSIZED (taller then he is) iguana stuffed animal and his junkbox from us. He is one happy kid.

 But my favorite picture of the WHOLE ENTIRE birthday ordeal is this next cake-shot. I told him to look up at me and smile, but he just couldn't. He really couldn't take his eyes off his Pokemon figurine cake. This look is the look EVERY mom wants to see on their child's face on their birthday!!!

And now that his birthday is finished, I can breathe in knowing that at least I won't have two of my kids' birthdays on the same day!!!!!