Keira's first few weeks at home...

I can't believe my little girl is going to be 3 weeks on Friday...she's almost a month old!!! I knew time would fly by quickly because it did with Dylan, so I'm trying to enjoy my time at home with Keira while it lasts. Everyone keeps asking how we're doing and how we're adjusting, and honestly, we're doing pretty darn good. Keith is so helpful and continues to be an amazing husband and father, Dylan seems to be enjoying his baby sister (he tries playing with her and holding her, and asks "where's baby?" as soon as he gets home from school), and the cat is happy just being fed everyday. If anything, I've been the one that's had the hardest time adjusting. I'm such a freak, I go crazy when there is no routine or structure in my life...and life with a newborn has no routine or structure. Right now I'm just following Keira's lead and letting her decide when it's time to eat and sleep, but it really gets in the way when I have things I need to do. It kills me to leave dishes in the dishwasher or laundry in the washing machine or not get out when I have errands to run. I was also starting to feel guilty for rocking Dylan's world when he wasn't listening to us like he used to. And when you throw in still trying to heal from surgery, feeding Keira 100 times a day, and never having time to shower, I was starting to have a pretty hard time adjusting. But, as Keith reminded me, this is our last baby, our last time having a newborn and it's going to pass by so quickly. I don't need to be worrying about keeping the house clean, my priority needs to be being there for her and loving her. And once I started realizing I can't be Super Mom and do EVERYTHING by myself, I stopped putting so much pressure on myself and life has been so much better. The house is a constant mess and I never have any clean clothes, but it's okay as long as my family is happy.

Unfortunately Keira is still not back up to her birth weight yet so we'll take her back on Friday to get it checked. But her umbilical cord finally fell off this morning! She's been having more wake times so it's been fun trying to play with her and interact with her. Keith went back to work this week and although we miss him being home with us, we love being home together :-)

Here are Dylan and Keira as newborns...the resemblance is insane!

Pics from St. Patrick's Day...we take this day very seriously in our family!

Dylan playing with his little sister!

Silly Daddy...

Melts my heart...

Love my babies!

Here are some pictures I took of Keira in her Easter tutu...too bad Dylan doesn't want his picture taken right now :-(

And here's Dylan...he went through a short phase where he refused to sleep during nap time and would  just sing instead. Thankfully he's napping again. Such a cutie!

Keira Addyson Marshall

She's here!!! She was born on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 12:19pm. She weighed 8lbs, 5oz and was 19.75 inches long. For the two days before the scheduled C-section I was having some really strong cramps...I told myself I was having contractions, but I wasn't 100% sure. They would be consistent, but then stop. When Keith and I checked into the hospital and they hooked me up to all of the fun machines, I was pretty surprised to see the line going off the charts...I really was having contractions and these were very much consistent. If my C-section wasn't already scheduled, I'm sure I would've had her on that day anyway.

Surgery went just as I remembered it last time, including Dr. Garner's random comments and conversation that entertained and helped calm me. Seriously, if anyone is looking for an OB/GYN in Plano, I highly recommend him! As soon as Keira was born and I got my first glimpse of her I was so shocked to see how much she looked like Dylan when he was born. It was amazing. Once I returned to my recovery room and held her for the first time, I instantly fell in love. I've always been so worried that I would never love anyone as much as I love Dylan...he's my whole world. But I now see what everyone has been telling me...both of my children mean everything to me and I am so in love with both of them equally. Our family is complete!

"I'm ready for surgery!" (sense the sarcasm)

I'm here!

My new family!

Big brother visiting little sister at the hospital...we had to use the iPad to lure him into the room the first day.

With his new pirate boat that Keira got him...

Snuggles with her daddy...

The Lewis family came to visit!

Proud daddy :-)

We have adjusted pretty well to life as a family of 4. And aside from him getting antsy from being home a lot, Dylan has been doing great with Keira home. He notices her and asks about her, but doesn't seem to really care very much. I can't wait for him to get to go back to school on Monday so he can get back into his routine and get to play with his friends again. Keith has been great about taking him out everyday, but I know he's getting pretty bored at home. Keira has been a GREAT baby!!! When Dylan was a newborn he cried a lot and we had no idea why or how to get him to stop. It was a very rough first month. It has been the exact opposite with Keira...she sleeps most of the time and only cries when she's hungry. Things have been so much easier this time...here's hoping it stays that way! We are so blessed to have this new bundle of joy to love and snuggle with.

Here are a few of the newborn pictures I took of Keira the other day. I was nervous because I've never taken pictures of a newborn before, but I love how these came out...I may be biased, but I think she is absolutely beautiful!!!

Self-Portrait Maternity Pics

I've been trying really hard to put myself in front of the camera lately...one of my photography goals this year. So I've been counting on my tripod and wireless remote to help me with this. As much as I wanted to have professional maternity pictures done (I didn't get any done with Dylan and I really want to remember what I looked like pregnant...it may be my last), I also wanted to challenge myself to do them on my own. Luckily Dylan was very willing to cooperate! Unfortunately I didn't realize my 50mm lens was on Manual Focus until after we were done and home...they're not completely out of focus, but definitely not as sharp as I would have liked. But with every obstacle, I learn something new!

These were done days later...I love how they turned out in black and white!

Today I attempted a mini-shoot with Dylan for his Valentine's Day cards...I had a $20 code from Shutterfly that had to be used by Wednesday, and I wasn't letting it go! Again, he did a great job of cooperating...who is this kid?!?! Who cares, I'm loving it!

Yes, he is in his PJs...he was modeling, I wasn't adding a wardrobe change into the mix!

Work is even crazier than ever, but I am determined to have every kid tested, report written, and ARD held before I leave. At my last appointment we scheduled our C-section date for March 8, so that leaves me with 7 weeks to go...however Dr. Garner told me to be prepared to go sooner if I have to, and I am! We have also FINALLY decided on a name for our little girl...Keira Addyson Marshall. We have most of the nursery ready, Keith has been working hard to get as much done as he can when he's home. Pictures will definitely be posted once it's all ready!

Family Pics 2012

We finally got our family pictures in and I think they turned out great!

Many thanks to Jacqueline Reitz for her amazing work :-)

Autumn at the Arboretum

We have never been to the Dallas Arboretum during the fall and I know their pumpkin patch is one of the best in the metroplex. So with Keith busy all day judging, Dylan and I decided to head out and visit the pumpkins. Of course my ultimate goal was to get some fun pics of Dylan, but since I was flying solo this time (and fat and pregnant) I decided to not push the camera in Dylan's face and followed his lead instead...a very important rule about photographing toddlers!

And yes he is wearing different shorts in half of the pictures...we got a little too excited running around the bales of hay. After some pizza for lunch we headed home, completely exhausted! Another fun morning out with my little guy!

Dylan's 2nd Birthday Pictures!

He's not quite 2 yet, but I took Dylan's birthday pictures a couple of days ago for his party invitations. I had seen the idea of tying balloons on a basket and putting him in it on a photog website one day and COULD NOT WAIT to try it out with him. When he came home and found the balloons and basket, he was so excited. He even let me put him in the basket, so I figured "this will be a piece of cake"...and, of course, I was wrong. Once we got to the park he wanted nothing to do with the balloons and pouted most of the time. Good news is, I still love all pictures of Dylan :-)