Tea with the animals.

Faith has a very active imagination these days. It was a rainy day last week when I suggested maybe we should have a tea party. Well, our thoughtful toddler thought that the animals should come to the party too!So then, we set to work creating a tea party complete with a diverse guest list which included panda bear, little bear, giraffe, and one (of course) naked Cabbage Patch doll. Someday her friends will have names, I'm sure....but not today. In the meantime they get to enjoy tea parties with a wonderful hostess....

 And what was Lainie doing in the meantime? Just hanging out on Faith's bed. She's a happy camper...and I know she can't wait to have her first sip of tea :)

Smiley Sisters.

Well, Lainie is quite the smiley girl! And big sister Faith is still a smiley girl :) We have just been surprised at how smiley Lainie is considering her age (5 and a half weeks). My hearted melted yesterday afternoon in particular. The girls and I were listening to music and Lainie was awake and alert sitting up in her bouncy seat. Faith, as usual, was dancing to the music...I think it was Taylor Swift. So, in perfect big sister style, she decides to include her little "sissy" so she goes over to Lainie and starts singing and dancing for her. Lainie responded with a huge grin meant only for Faith. This just encouraged Faith to keep entertaining. I wish I would have gotten it on video, but I'll just have to keep it fresh in my mommy mind. It was a sweet moment, and gave me a glimpse of the sister moments to come.

Ok...so maybe Lainie isn't smiling in this one...but Faith is!

Introducing Miss Lainie Marie (and a new look for the blog!)

Lainie Marie was born August 13 weighing 7 lbs 13 oz and measuring 20.5 in. long. She was born with a head of blonde hair just like Faith...hence our new blog title :) We are lucky that Daddy has a sense of humor!

Lainie's birth was truly a great experience. I really did not want to be induced with Lainie as I had been with Faith. I just felt it would be a better thing to let my body "go" when it was ready. Thankfully this was able to happen. Lainie was born 5 days after her due date, but I went into labor naturally thanks to lots of walking with my VERY supportive husband. Poor guy. Papaw and Gigi were in town so Nate and I were able to do lots of walking with Faith and on our own. I had him walking me around the mall, around Sam's club, around the neighborhood at 5 am to beat the heat...and eventually walking around the hospital with me because I really wasn't sure if we should check in or not...but our bags were in the van "just in case." Thankfully God gave me the nudge to get things checked out again and I was SIX cm dialated! We checked in and within an hour I was at 8 cm and my water still had not broken so the doctor broke it for me. Needless to say this speeded things along quickly (and more painfully). I pushed through about 4 contractions, and Lainie was born. God blessed the time in so many ways. Most of our immediate family made it for the birth and got to meet Lainie within minutes of her birth. Also, our doctor was great and really supportive of me doing it naturally. Lainie was alert and suprisingly I was much less exhausted than when I had an epidural with Faith.

So, that was about 5 weeks ago! My how time flies (well, in some ways...). Lainie has a sweet and mostly calm disposition. She sleeps well, eats well and seems to love her big sister. She's already giving us smiles which we, of course, love. Big sister Faith is QUITE the helper. Maybe a little too much at times :) But, for an inquisitive two year old who has had her world shaken a little, she is adjusting very well.

Thanks to everyone who kept our family in your prayers throughout the pregnancy and birth...and who are still keeping us in your prayers as we adjust. The past two nights Lainie has slept about 7 hours which has been such a blessing. Before that it was about every 4 hours. We'll see if it lasts, but even a few days of more sleep can last me awhile.

Well, enough chit-chat. Here are some pics of the birth and since...