Transition from 3 to 4

Ooops, I am a little behind on blogging. There are so many wonderful things to post about and so much less time to do so. This past weekend my Children's Hospital Guild hosted a fundraiser that I have been working on for months so most of my spare time since Janie's arrival has been spent working on spreadsheets and sending e-mails. The Tea for Hope event was a success and now that I have fulfilled my commitment, I have more time to chronicle these important moments as we have transitioned to a family of four!

Going back a few weeks... Above, we were able to enjoy a special tuck-in with Scout the night before Janie's birth. We were planning on going to the hospital first thing in the morning the next day for my induction and knew it would be our last time with Clara before Gem's birth. Together we sang a few songs, talked about what was going to happen and read Clara's Big Sister book. Since Grandma Carol and Grandma & Grandpa Stevens were already at our house, we were able to capture one last photo of just the three of us.

Only a short time later I went into labor on my own, progressed fairly quickly and we headed to the hospital around 1:30 am. At 12:54 pm, Miss Janie Caroline arrived and later that evening, Kevin & I had the honor of introducing our sweet girls to one another. For Clara, it has appeared to be instant love.

The next day, when we brought Janie home, Clara was thrilled to see her sister. Unfortunately, she had come down with a mild cold and we had to closely monitor how close she got to Janie. After spending 24 hours with our newborn, Clara felt so HUGE and grown up.

Janie also arrived with gifts for her big sister... When she visited the hospital, Clara received some Calico Critter bunnies that she loves to play with at the local toy store. Then when we brought Janie home, Clara got a play house for these bunnies. What a hit!

In the picture above, Clara is wearing the same dress Mommy wore the day I met my baby brothers. Auntie Pat came across some of my dresses that Julie had also worn and gave them to me - how special!!