dear piper...

You have the best mom and grandmom on the planet!

I hope I do the beret justice.

The quilt is a treasure! Sometimes my mom acts like the baby around here...you should have seen her crying when she opened it!

XOXO, Campbell

2 months

I am obsessed with her.

Campbell weighed in at 11lbs 1oz at her 2 month appointment putting her in the 50th percentile.

She is still indifferent to her binky, you need to hold it for her or she spits it right out. She does love to suck on her hand though and can put herself to sleep doing so.

She sleeps like an angel - 8 to 9 hours at night!

Campell is starting to be super smiley and coos at us - it is the best feeling in the world.

She is our little doll, even the boys want to pick out her outfits and hairbows.

We can't wait to celebrate Christmas with our sweetest little gift!

abundance

Bigs & Littles....I've always loved that! I'm thankful they let me take this picture, even if I did have to crop a sword out of it.

Graham got up from the table early...we found him sitting at the island eating corn out of the serving bowl with a giant spoon.



Sawyer with the wishbone. Too bad he wasted it, wishing for a motorcycle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

the longest soccer season ever

We had so much rain in the month of October that rescheduled games had to be rescheduled. And when it finally stopped raining? It snowed.

The boys finally had their tournament on Saturday to close out the season. Thank goodness, because it would have been tricky to play in parkas.

Sawyer played on Minor B, Team England. He scored many goals this season and definitely improved his game from last year. He also really loved playing goalie.


Harrison played Minor A, Team Italy. His position this year was defense and he was dubbed "The Oak Tree" by his teammates. He was much more competitive this year and did an awesome job protecting the goal.



Next up...basketball.

one month

I still remember the first time Jonathan spoke her name nearly three years ago. I knew even after we went on to have a boy named Graham, that Campbell was somewhere in our future.

And I still want to hug Sawyer every time I think about him telling me we needed a baby girl in our family, and that we should call her "Heart"

We all longed for you, Campbell Hartley. You were truly meant to be. Heaven Sent. A pink dream come true. I can't imagine existing without you.

pumkin patch

We had so much rain this October that we almost didn't make it to the pumpkin patch. Since this is one of my favorite Fall activities I'm glad the weather finally cooperated. I'm also glad no one stepped on a bee hive (Sawyer, last year!) makes for a lot more fun ;)

what everyone wants to know...

Who does she look like?

We haven't figured it out yet. And the opinions are completely mixed.

I'm really curious to see what happens with her hair and eye color...I need to know which Bitty Baby to order for Christmas!

a baby story

Despite sky high blood pressure, Campbell being breech twice during the final weeks, and my absolute misery at the end, I was not induced for her delivery. I was scheduled to be induced on the 6th, but just minutes before leaving for the hospital we got a call that the unit was too busy and the induction would be delayed. By two o'clock that afternoon it was clear it wasn't going to happen at all. As disappointed as I was to not meet Campbell that day I resisted the urge to reschedule for the following morning - I was trying to force things and I knew it. In my heart I really did want the excitement of going into labor on my own, but waiting for that to happen was torture as my 10/9 due date approached. Of course now that she is here I can say nothing in my life has ever been more worth waiting for.

On the 7th I noticed contractions early in the day, but they were mild and inconsistent. Still, I was hopeful that they would intensify and set labor into motion. Finally at 8pm as the boys were winding down for bed I noticed the contractions coming every 10 minutes. They were not painful at that point and for two hours they failed to come any closer together. By 10 o'clock I was in full swing walking up and down the stairs and turning laps around the kitchen table to see if the contractions would get stronger. Jonathan in the meanwhile was glued to the Phillie's play off game. As the final inning played I was hit with a lot more pain and the contractions jumped to 4 minutes apart. I imagined that my mostly male dr.'s were all watching this last game in the series too, so I didn't start dialing until the final batter was up. The dr. on call told me to come right to the hospital and as soon as my mom arrived to watch the boys we were in the car and on our way.

I was upstairs in labor and delivery right before midnight and in a lot of pain. I mentioned every 20 seconds that I wanted my epidural. With as much agony as I was feeling I was surprised and slightly deflated to learn I was only 4cm dilated. Amazingly, after the epidural, I was checked again and had progressed to 8cm in just one hour! The nurse told me to relax and try to rest and that when the baby was down we would start to push - it was surreal how quickly it was all happening. With the boys I was in labor all day with pitocin to move things along. Right before 3am I told the nurse I felt some pressure, and sure enough I was fully dilated and ready to push. I could not believe when Dr. Lindberg announced after the first set of pushes that her head was out - I wasn't feeling any pain! She was far and away my easiest delivery and the experience was absolutely beautiful. I can freeze the moment she slipped into the world in my mind. There was such a hush and calm in the room, it was magical to know I was going to meet my baby. In minutes my daughter was in my arms. So long awaited, so tiny, so perfect. I enjoyed every moment of taking her in.



Later that morning Nanny was first to visit!

The big brothers arrived in the afternoon and couldn't wait to hold her!

They were instantly in love!
My heart melted to see Graham so happy to have a little sister.



Campbell had lots more visitors at the hospital too - Cappy, Uncle John & Aunt Ruthann, Uncle Bob, Cousin Angela, Pastor Candy, and mommy's friends Mindy, Korey & Laura.

The boys brought me flowers, and even the water turned PINK!
I was so excited to dress Campbell from head to toe when it was time to bring her home from the hospital.



Graham was the best welcoming committee!

We were all excited to spread the word that Campbell had finally joined our family!

Welome Campbell. You are an answered prayer. You are my wish come true. You are so very, very loved.