Life as a Family of Four!

Life for the past two weeks has been new for us...we are now a family of four and we are loving every minute of it! Having two children under the age of two is definitely tiring, but super rewarding! Maddux is adjusting to his sister very well. He enjoys kissing her and feeding her...as you can see. He even practices on Elmo...his best friend! Over the past two weeks, it has been amazing to watch Maddux mature and develop even more as a little boy. Here and there we can see his independence starting to shine through as he realizes that he now has to share his life with his sister!

Addison is doing wonderfully as well. She is up to 6lbs 10oz already...she gained almost a whole pound in one week, which for a preemie is a lot! Her doctor was very pleased...as were her mommy and daddy! She is enjoying tummy time and really starting to develop a strong neck. I could have told you when I carried her that she was a tough little girl!

Since Addison was a preemie, her doctor doesn't want her out and about in public, so I had to have a little photo session at home to capture these precious moments during her first month of life. After she's a month old, then we will be more free to go out! Until then, we are just enjoying family time at home. The first several pictures below are from our photo session...the rest of the pictures are simply everyday life in the Kettlebar home! Enjoy!

Our Little Surprise Valentine!

Life is full of surprises, and this Valentine's weekend, we received the best surprise anyone could ever ask for...our daughter! Miss Addison Elizabeth was born on Friday, February 11, 2011 at 2:06pm, weighing 5lbs. 15oz and 18 3/4 in long! Addison was 4 weeks early, but amazingly perfectly healthy. Right after birth, her blood sugar levels were low, so given her premature status, she did spend the next few days in the NICU so she could have an IV to keep her blood sugar levels up. Being the strong and feisty little girl that she is, doctors and nurses were amazed by her progress and she was able to come home with me on Sunday afternoon! We couldn't be happier and feel more blessed at how healthy and strong she is and continue to count our blessings daily that she is home with us...our family is complete!

One very proud daddy!

Her paddle, as we called it, on her left hand was her IV to maintain her blood sugar levels!

Mouth wide open...she truly is our child!

Cannot get enough of her!

Getting ready to go home!

Finally in the car seat and ready to meet my big brother!

The smile of acceptance from her big brother! Maddux's first words when he saw her were "baby" and "pretty"...what a sweetheart!

Maddux thinking he could still possibly fit in his old car seat...not quite!

Amazing how a small crib can look so big!

After watching his sister get swaddled in blankets, he wanted to swaddle Ernie...we still need to work on that holding technique...but very precious nevertheless.