Family of Four

I had hoped to get one last update before Will arrived, but of course, it didn't happen. After almost a whole week of being in labor (false labor, I guess since we were sent home from the hospital twice), Will finally decided to make his arrival on Easter Sunday.  I'm not sure if it was the Easter Egg Hunt the day before, the pedicure I had on Good Friday, or the probably hundred miles I walked the week before that convinced him to finally get here.
At 11:45 am Sunday, April 8, William Kyle McDonald was born. He was a surprising 8 lbs, 2 oz---surprising because the sonographer had predicted he would be under 7 1/2 lbs.

Will is a very different baby than Elisabeth was. To start with, the boy likes to eat!!  He gained weight the first week, weighing in at 8 lb 4 oz, and then at two weeks 8 lb 14 oz. At 5 weeks old, he has almost outgrown many of his 3 mos sized clothes! I don't even think Elisabeth was big enough to wear that size until she was about a month old. I'm only half joking when I say he is going to be as big as she is in a year!  He has also struggled with some reflux, but Zantac has helped a lot, and he seems to be much less fussy after taking it for about a week.
Elisabeth was beside herself with excitement to finally meet baby brother. I will never forget how her face lit up with love the first time she saw him in the hospital room.  She has been a wonderful big sister, always wanting to help change his diapers and bathe him, and trying to comfort him when he cries. Before he was born, her behavior had taken a dive---but now that we are settled in, it has improved considerably and we are all happy about that. Here are "before and after" pictures.

Just a few weeks later, it was time for Elisabeth's 3rd birthday!  It feels like we just brought home our baby girl, but she is defnitely not a baby anymore. Her party was at Gymnastics Sport Center, because I knew I didn't want to host the party at our house this year, and I didn't want to risk planning it at a park in case it rained. About 15 of her friends came, and while she had a great time, I think she was a little overwhelmed by it all. Mom and Dad thought it was loads of fun, though!  Here are a couple of pics from the "Pinkalicious" party.

 

Life with two kids is hectic, but I am happy to learn to adjust. We had newborn and family pictures taken today, so I am looking forward to posting some really good photos of Will and our new family of four!  One last photo of my sweet baby boy until the next post . . .