Winter Greetings!

It is cold and rainy here but we are having a nice day getting things ready for Christmas. Things have calmed down a bit since the arrival of little Nicholas and I am beginning to feel a little better. For those of you who were wondering the delivery went great. I had been in early labor on and off for two weeks, but I wasn't sure it was doing anything and I was starting to get tired and discouraged. I went in Tuesday at 1:30 for my 40 week appointment and the midwife checked me and told me I was 4+ centimeters and going to go soon and very fast. She was right because as soon as I got home I realized I was in active labor and called Casey. We got back to the birth center around 4 and he was born at 5:30. I only had to push for 20 minutes, which was nice after the other two.

He is doing great, already up to 8lbs 11ozs at his last checkup. He is a pretty quiet baby and eats and sleeps well. He looks a lot like both his brothers, but especially like Jackson. The older boys love him and enjoy helping with him and holding him.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox postcard

Welcome Nicholas James!

Nicholas James was born at 5:30 PM on December 9th. 8lbs. 8 oz. 21 inches long. Mother and baby are doing fine. Here are some of the first photos:

Bless the Baby Jesus

We were able to continue the advent tradition we started last year, by going down to the Cathedral yesterday for the "Bless the Baby Jesus prayer service" with Cardinal Rigali. The Cathedral is beautiful and it the kids really enjoyed it. It is not always easy to find activities during advent that focus on preparation and by the time Christmas arrives and we are ready to celebrate, everyone else is done. Anyway, it was a really special day and I am glad we got to attend and Casey got to join us for it. The Cardinal even gave the baby a special blessing!

Baby Update

Well, the due date has come and gone and no baby yet. I am sure he will come when he is ready, although I am anxious to see when that will be. The good news is reinforcements have arrived! My mom came Thursday to help with the boys, dinner, grocery shopping, etc so that has been a huge my relief. We were trying to wait as long as possible to have her come down, so she would be sure to be here when the baby comes, but with Casey starting exams tomorrow, I was running out of stamina. Anyway, here is what I hope will be the final photo of me in this enormous state!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A little belated but here are some photos from Thanksgiving. We spent the day in NJ at Aunt Lee and Bill's house. Casey's brother Erik was in town and we all had a nice dinner. You can see the Casey and the boys have begun a Thanksgiving Day football tradition. Francis seems to have a gift for it. He just puts his head down. grabs Jackson around the waist and takes him down.