Grayson is 3!

Grayson is the cutest, smartest, and sweetest little boy there ever was!  He even earns extra points for being potty trained and for sleeping in a big boy bed all prior to baby sister coming!  Grayson is so fun to have in our family.  He's a good playmate with Hazel (unless he feels like teasing her), he's cautious, he looves puzzles, he loves books and retells them on his own in his cute little voice, he likes most food (except avocado, tomato, and pickles), and he's a momma's boy for now, which I love!  On his actual birthday, James's parents brought the kids up to the hospital for some cupcakes, and then they took the kids to Stonebriar mall to play and to ride the carousel.  Later that day, we came home from the hospital and Grayson opened up some presents.  A few days later, we met Matt's family at Braum's for ice cream and more presents!  We'll see how we handle these birthdays one day apart in the future, but this year, Grayson was a great sport and loved all the mini celebrations we had for him.

The colors are off, but this is his big boy room.

Love this handsome 3 year old!

Jada Christine Palmer

We knew it was possible for baby girl to come on Grayson's birthday, so I chose to be induced the day before his special day.  My mother in law came to help me 2 whole weeks prior to baby coming because the doc said the baby could come any day.  Even though she didn't come, I sure didn't mind having Barbara here to help me with everything.  It was sooo nice.  The only bad thing that happened while she was here was the hail storm that totaled her car!

On April 12th, James and I left early in the morning to go to Allen Presbyterian Hospital.  It always feels strange to drive to the hospital, knowing you're coming home with a baby.  We got settled in our room and the nurses started the induction at 6:30 am.  Later they gave me my epidural and then broke my water afterward since I usually go pretty quickly after that.  The labor process was about as expected and easy enough until the end.  This was the first time my epidural didn't take well on one side, and by the time I knew it wasn't going to work really well, it was already too late.  Baby was coming!  I was surprised when Dr. Weise said she had lots of dark hair!  Once they put baby girl in my arms, I instantly loved her and cried as usual.  So sweet, perfect, and innocent.  She came at 10:37 am and was 8 lbs. 6 oz. (my biggest) and 20 in. long with the most hair of all three kids.  I guess she wanted to outdo her siblings.  They didn't even whisk baby away to bathe her or anything, so I got to just hold her and stare at her for a long time.  She had the same round face as her brother and sister with similar features - dark blue little eyes, pudgy nose, small chin, and dirty blonde hair.  After several hours, we finally decided on a name for our little angel...

Jada Christine Palmer

April 12, 2016

8 lbs. 6 oz.

Jada means "wise" or "knowing" and it's also a variation of the word/color "jade", which James and I always liked.  Christine is obviously similar to Christina, my dad has a sister Christine, and Chris and Christina are baby girl's uncle and aunt, so her middle name has a lot of family meaning.

Later that day, Gma and Gpa Palmer and Hazel and Grayson came to meet their little sister.  They thought she was pretty great and loved holding her.  

Then we took our first picture as a family of 5!

After one night in the hospital, we were ready to be back home, so gratefully baby and I were doing well enough to do so.  Here's Jada ready for her ride home with her cute blanket the hospital gave us!

We're so grateful to have this sweet, little, healthy angel in our lives.

Baby Celebrations

My friends arranged a night out at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate baby girl and me, and it was perfect.  I love a good girls' night and cheesecake!  I got some adorable gifts as well, which got me really excited because even with a second girl, new stuff is always fun! 

Then the Young Women had a little baby shower for me at Mutual, and I left with more girly stuff and diapers, which was great since I hadn't bought any of those!

Then the last get together we had was a cookout with friends.  Good times and delicious smores.

Now baby girl can and will be joining us any day!!

Easters

The weekend before Easter, we had a great time at the big egg hunt in Plano.  The kids loved all of the activities, so even though it was crowded, it was worth it!  Petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, crafts, balloons, a train, bounce houses, the Easter bunny, and an egg hunt.

Then in the week leading up to Easter Sunday, we did a few fun activities to talk about the real meaning of Easter.

Palm Sunday

Their other favorite activity was our Passover meal.  Hazel wants to eat like this more often -- a dinner of all of her favorite snacks!

Easter Sunday was beautiful.  I'm so grateful I get to be with my sweet family forever!