Home Again, Home Again

Daddy, Mommy, and Malone got back to our house on Wednesday right around noon. Brett said he'd handle unloading our bags, while I took our daughter up to the front door of her new home.

At least, for the next nine months...

Special delivery!

Oma and T-Pa had handled dropping off and picking up Kaiser from school that morning. When I walked in with their sister in tow, the boys were right in the middle of lunch, and Monsters, Inc. was on the TV, so they were more than slightly distracted.

"Oh yeah...we missed you...welcome home...whatever." :)

In their defense, Malone was sleeping soundly in her carrier, so the entertainment she could provide them at that moment was somewhat limited. After they finished eating, Oma and T-Pa wanted to give their grandsons a couple of gifts they had brought along with them. The kiddos were thrilled to open up a soccer ball and soccer goal! They asked to go out in the backyard to start practicing immediately.  

P helping get the net set up (or maybe just dragging it to a different spot).

He shoots, he scores!

Our aspiring soccer stars eventually tired out and came back inside for a bit before naptime. It was at that point that Kaiser and Porter suddenly remembered the new sibling Mommy and Daddy had brought home to them, and Malone was suddenly bathed in their love and affection.

"Oh, hiiiii Sissy!"

Trying to figure out how to unbuckle her.

My three minis.

Oma got Malone out of her car seat and brought her over to sit on the couch. Soon Porter climbed up right beside them so that he could closer inspect his sister.

He's naturally very gentle with her.

"Dassah heend." (That's a hand.)

After Porter had gone to sleep, Kaiser asked to use the time that remained before his own nap to hold Sissy, too.

Now that's the face of a proud big brother!

And I am a proud momma.

Eventually the little dudes were both asleep, so T-Pa had a chance to get his hands on Malone, too. 

He's a great snuggler.

That evening, Brett picked up pizza for dinner from Church Brew Works. Afterward, we sang Daddy "Happy Birthday" and dug into the delicious carrot cake Antonia had brought us that morning. (Side Note: A nursing mother with an entire cake available to her in her kitchen is a very dangerous thing!)

My handsome hubby enjoying his cake with our two strapping boys.

Making sure he gets every last bit of cream cheese frosting.

The rest of our night was a very low-key one; as always, Porter was tucked in first, and Kaiser got to stay up for a while and play with his new favorite toy. T-Pa and he had lots of important construction projects to work on.

Can they build it? Yes, they can!

Meanwhile, can you guess what our precious princess was doing??? 

That's right -- anywhere and everywhere.

Late that night, Sister was all dirty from spit-up and poop, so I stripped her down and wiped her body with a warm washcloth. I was then that I became so infatuated with how teeny, tiny her bottom (and, for that matter, the rest of her) was. (Is it weird for me to admit that?) There was just nothing to it at all! I came downstairs with her curled up against my chest, my hand cupped underneath her puny rear, and started explaining my infatuation to my husband, mom, and stepdad. I bet you know what's coming next...

Yep. She pooped in my hand.

Just lovely. Truth be told, I didn't mind at all; my hands have been covered in worse things than the poop of a breastfed baby! I asked for Brett's assistance in the bathroom as I tried to get cleaned up. Any idea what happened when I handed over our naked babe so that I could wash my hands?

Uh-huh. She pooped on Daddy, too.

Once all of that was out of her system, I took my girl into her room for some one-on-one time before bed.

We spent a few minutes on our tummies.

Then, we had a mother/daughter chat.

And that about wraps up our first day (well, half-day) at home with Malone Marie. This baby girl had already stolen all of our hearts, but in the week that has passed since then, she has gotten a firmer grip on them with each passing day...

Our Hospital Stay

After the crazy night we'd had on Monday, it was nice to have a quiet, peaceful Tuesday morning, just the three of us. When we weren't being checked on by doctors and nurses, Brett and I continued to stare at and take in every detail of this amazing little creature who had instantly captured our hearts.

Good morning, Sunshine.

Can't wait to watch him be her dad.

I had been in pretty regular contact with Kacia via text since dropping off the boys the afternoon before, so I knew that they were having a ball at their special slumber party. She sent the following videos of the big brothers shortly after they got out of bed that morning:

We were looking forward to having Kaiser and Porter come to the hospital to meet their new sister, and were so thankful when Kacia said she'd been able to fit three carseats in her car and could bring them up. She and I pow-wowed and decided they'd eat lunch, then head our way a bit after noon. I got Malone dressed in the "M" onesie I made for her that coordinated with the boys' "BIG BRO" shirts, which they would be wearing when they arrived.

She wasn't diggin' the whole "pose for a picture" thing.

Model meltdown.

It didn't take long to realize I wasn't going to get any non-crying pictures, so I gave the little diva what she really wanted:

My most beautiful baby burrito.

Big hugs to the Harrises for Malone's gorgeous swaddling blankets!

Right before Kacia and the munchkins arrived, there was a knock at the door; John, one of our pastors from church, had stopped by to meet our girl. We enjoyed visiting with him for a while, and he got a chance to hold the newest member of the Oakland nursery. (As it turns out, there was another baby born to a couple from our campus on Monday, so John was able to walk down the hall to pop in on them, as well.)

You can tell he's had experience with his own three kids!

While John was still there, we got a message that Kacia and the gang were there, so Brett went down to help with the little ones. I was so anxious to see my boys and their reaction to seeing Sissy for the first time!

They came bearing gifts!

Malone had some gifts waiting for Kaiser and Porter -- wasn't that thoughtful of her??? ;) There was a bag with a couple of small toys, activity books, and DVDs. But that was almost entirely ignored when our truck-loving dudes caught sight of this:

Now that is a cool crane!

It was clear from their reaction that the crane was a win (and has continued to be in the week since they've brought it home). The boys also had a present for their sister, and Kaiser was especially excited to give Malone her new lovey. They adore their Angel Dear blankies, Buster the Bear and Ziggy the Tiger; we picked out a purple hippo (yet to be named) for Sissy. 

"You'll love this -- trust us."

Kaiser was the first one to ask to hold Malone, and later on Porter did the same. I truly can't describe how much my heart was blessed as I watched our sons love on our daughter. They were so gentle and sweet and affectionate. I know that they won't always get along, and these three will have their fair share of fights, but I have a feeling that Kaiser and Porter will be older brothers who are caring and protective of their baby sister.

While Porter was taking his turn holding Malone, I was able to get some footage of the two of them together:

Of course, this first meeting wouldn't be complete without an obligatory sibling photo and "family of five" photo. Thanks to a speedy camera (and a capable photographer in Kacia), we were able to get a couple of good shots:

And this is the moment in which my heart EXPLODES.

Holy cow, are all these kids ours?!?

"So, is it too early to start talking about #4?" (Kidding!)

"Mommy can't wait to do girly things with you!"

Now, you may not have spotted her in any pictures yet, but there was another pretty little lady in the room who wanted a chance to see Malone up close:

Harlow meets her new best friend!

It was too precious seeing how intrigued and smitten Harlow was by teensy Miss M. Of course, her momma wanted in on the baby action, too.

Malone loves her Auntie Kacia.

After about an hour of fun, it was apparent that all of the babes needed rest, so we wrapped up our visit. Brett took our boys off of Kacia's hands and took them home for the afternoon/evening. They napped and then all went out for a guys' night -- dinner at Burgatory with Dave, one of Brett's best friends and fellow ortho residents. Meanwhile, I got to spend the rest of the day cuddling with my pumpkin, who was plumb tuckered out after the excitement of her initial meeting with her very active, loud brothers.

"That was a tad overwhelming, to say the least!"

Nothing like a warm baby balled up on your chest.

Trying to blog, but for some reason I was distracted...

That night around 6:00, my mom and stepdad arrived. They had left St. Louis that morning and driven all day to come welcome their very first granddaughter to the world!

Proud Oma and T-Pa.

Someone's smitten.

As we were chatting about their trip, another friend popped in to say hi. Jess is an ortho wife and such a sweetheart. While her husband, Dave, was out to eat with my guys, she decided to come meet Malone on her way to work a night shift at Presby. 

She's a natural.

After Jess said goodbye, Oma and T-Pa stuck around to love on Malone for a little while, then headed home to our house to meet up with Brett, Kaiser, and Porter. They stayed with the kiddos overnight and took care of them the following day so that Brett could come back to the hospital to be with his girls. Our tiny chica had a decent bit of waketime again that evening, so I tried to take some pics in one of the cute outfits she was lent by her friend Lydia.

Peaceful slumber.

So alert and content!

Or not.

Since Malone was born so late on Monday night, we didn't get quite as long of a stay in the hospital as we did after having either of our boys. Before our discharge on Wednesday morning, we had an extra doctor come to see us:

The amazing Dr. Chen!

Antonia (another one of Brett's co-residents) holds a special place in our hearts: She's the only friend who has come to see all three of our babies in the hospital right after they were born. That's dedication! Not only that, but she brought along flowers and a beautiful birthday cake for Malone and her daddy (whose birthday was that day!). Antonia = Big Time Rock Star.

The "In English" part is an inside joke.

(A funny one -- you'll have to take my word for it.) :)

Unfortunately, Brett had run to the gym and to grab coffee, so he missed Antonia. She finally had to leave to get to conference, and shortly afterward he got back. We spent our morning getting our things packed up and just hanging out until everyone who needed to see us came by. The pediatrician checked in on Malone again, as well as the audiologist, who had to retest her right ear (which hadn't passed the day before, but was 100% the second time). Dr. U came by to check in with me, and I got to briefly recount Malone's birth story (and give him a hard time for not being on call Monday night). :) He congratulated us, gave me a few instructions reminders, and told me he'd see me in 6 weeks for my follow-up appointment. Once our doctors had put in discharge orders, our nurse came to our room to complete some paperwork. She also had to do a heel stick and collect some blood from Malone, which didn't make for the most fun farewell. :(

"Seriously?!"

Then I got the lil miss fed and dressed in her going-home outfit. 

It was obviously a huge hit. 

Around 11:15, we were ready to roll. A few final pictures before our departure...

Me and my sleepyhead.

"Where are those beautiful baby blues?"

Daddy and his birthday present.

Pretty, pretty princess.

All strapped in.

Let's blow this joint!

We walked our bundle of joy down to the nurses' station, had them remove the security tag from her ankle, and were escorted to the door. Malone Marie was officially ours!!! :) Mommy and Daddy absolutely couldn't wait to get her home, start making memories together, and learn what life looked like as Braly, party of five.