Week 1

A few more pics Ben.

Check out his dimple,

wrinkles

and little yawn.

Distracting Carlyle

"Baby Ben . . . Where are you?" as Carlyle walks in the door from school today.

Overall, Carlyle is adjusting well to Ben's arrival. She had somewhat of a bumpy start getting back to her routine after spending the weekend away with Zuzu and Meme. But we accredited those fits to having more to do with Mommy & Daddy being gone and preoccupied.

When it comes to her baby brother, she is always excited to see him, talk about him, announce when he enters the room, share her toys with him and notify us where he is or when she hears him crying. If he is taking a nap, "Ben is sweeping. Close his eyes." And like any two-year old would be, she gets a little jealous if one of us is holding him too long... so we take shifts or hide in the other room. So far, week one has been manageable, especially with the juggling act between Mommy, Daddy, and Zuzu.

And with the help of some distractions, she is having a blast...

Discovering the fun of "dress-up"!

She loved rediscovering this tutu.

Caped Crusader
(Zuzu made Carlyle a cape out of Baby Ben's blanket, and C walked the house admiring herself for an hour!)

With her very own baby. (Thank you for Bitty Baby, Meme!)

Milk... It does a body good.

Weighing in at 7lbs 13oz, a whopping 9 oz gain in the two days since we left the hospital.

Hello World

Welcome to the world,

John Benoit Garrity

"Ben"

Born September 23, 2011

2:38 am

7lbs. 8 oz.

20 1/4 inches

Capture the Moment

Carlyle and Mommy in the backyard this morning.

As we anxiously await meeting our sweet baby boy and little brother, we are capturing the moment as a family of three. Before Carlyle was born, I remember Justin and I trying to capture the moment as it was just the two of us. We would spend time in the hammock or go see a movie. Now, its hard to remember exactly what that felt like. I know its just a matter of time before I will not know any other life than our family of four. Lately, my friends have been telling me how precious these moments are with Carlyle. I have tried to soak up my time with her from day one, cherishing the little things. All the while, I knew that our ultimate gift to her would be to give her a brother or sister... hopefully the best thing for her ultimately.

Out with the purple and in with the BLUE

I have officially packed my bag for the hospital, the carseat is in the trunk of the car, and we have put most of the final touches on Baby Boy's new nursery.

New bedding for baby boy that we bought at an adorable baby store in Austin when we visited Jan, Zach, and Zoe.

Justin and I almost bought this mobile in NYC when we spotted it at a store in SoHo. We found it online when we got home.

I painted these with watercolor from a Walter Anderson alphabet coloring book we bought in Oxford last Fall.

Jen gave us these alphabet cards for Carlyle's nursery when we framed the L, C, & J. We decided to use all the letters on the wall for Baby Boy.

His going home outfit, ironed and ready.

First Day of School

I can't believe Carlyle has been going to Mother's Day Out for a year now. I like to call it "school" now, but last year I was a little less enthusiastic to be dropping her off the first day. She was only 11 months old! Now, a year later, I have to admit that she and I both had a hard time with with drop-ff on Tuesday. She spent the last two weeks exclusively with me during their school break. Some tears were shed by Mommy and daughter as I left her crying for "Mommy" when I dropped her off. Did she not realize that I am far too hormonal and emotional to handle that right now?

The photo below is from Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday did not go as smoothly; therefore, no photos were taken. But Thursday, her friend Alexandra (Azza) fortunately joined her. These two are like two peas in a pod... made the day SO much better, no tears involved.

pardon the blurry iPhone photos

Sweet Relief

The only word to describe it: Giddy

Our long overdue break from the Summer heat arrived Monday morning. We woke up to 60 degree weather, and it was just what we needed... a glimpse of what is to come! Luckily, it was Labor Day, and we could thoroughly enjoy the weather with Daddy home. Our neighborhood was packed with families walking and riding bikes. It was so refreshing to see everyone come to life!

We had a few friends and family over to break in the Green Egg for Fall and enjoy the weather. Carlyle and Mercer played together like I'd never seen them play before. It was so fun to watch! Carlyle absolutely adores Mercer.

Happiness! She played so hard ALL day, she almost fell asleep in the bathtub. BTW, the bath was necessary because she was covered in dirt from a long day outside.

Alleluia! Mercer and Carlyle dined together on our back patio while we enjoyed Justin's plentiful spread of BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes and corn.

And according to Carlyle, Mercer just might be the funniest person she knows. We could not get enough of this belly laughing.

Don't feel obligated to watch the whole video... its long, but I laugh just listening to her laugh.

Yes, those are long sleeves. The family walk to the playground early Monday morning was so nice. Justin did most all of the running around with Carlyle, and I hopped in for a photo on the swings to capture my 37 week belly in action.