November 2013

I think we have forgotten how fun (and exhausting!) life with a newborn can be!  The older kids cannot seem to get enough of their new "toy" and Evan and I have embraced sleepless nights with the best of them.  We still saw some warm weather in November (barely) and enjoyed getting out of the house some.  Alice and I traveled to NKY to visit with everyone and to allow me to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding.  Trying on bridesmaid dress, or any for that matter, 3-weeks post-partum should be illegal, but I had fun nonetheless!  Thanksgiving was especially fun this year as we celebrated my cousin Dustin's 30th birthday!  This was a great time for our most special Dustin and great to see so many of my extended family.  

Now it's time to take a deep breath and brace myself for the insanity that is the holidays and birthday extravaganza of December!

Alice meeting Great-Grandma Kubala for a ladies' luncheon at my mom's

The best part of maternity leave is having Nana on hand to teach us how to make her infamous zucchini bread!

Alice enjoying Nana time at Uncle Joel's condo over Thanksgiving break

Loving her mommy

For those of you that don't know, Jane has a teensy tiny obsession with my sister, Katie.  She wants to be like her in every sense of the word.  Here, she could hardly contain herself "because, Mommy, guess what?!  Aunt Katie and I are BOTH wearing camisoles and skinny jeans.  Can you believe it?!" 

Dustin on his big day, riding in style in a limo!

All the Scheper great-grandkids.  L to R: Avery, Lana, Jane, Alice, Keegan, Karis, Luke

Luke loves reading to Alice.  His mini-Bible is his all-time favorite.

Um, I don't think they knew I was watching them!  They love dancing!

This will absolutely be used as blackmail later in life.  He LOVES these singlet-style jammies.  I had to hide them otherwise he picks them every night. 

A forced Thanksgiving day picture.

#absoluteperfection

First Week at Home

Life is pretty simple for a one-week old baby, however, for the rest of us, I think we're getting a glimpse of how life is changed forever (and we wouldn't have it any other way)!  We've loved settling in as a family of 5 and have enjoyed many visitors, including Grandpa Bob &  Granny who had yet to meet any of their great-grandchildren at this newborn stage!  It was a wonderful day for everyone and we're loving the transition.  Alice seems to be doing well, although, let's be honest...she's like every newborn baby before her and loves snuggling and sleeping.  Jane and Luke are VERY proud of her and are excited to tell everyone they talk to about her.  They like to sit right next to her and just watch her...especially Luke, forever the tender-hearted.

Halloween was a bit overlooked this year with having such a small baby around, but we did our best to still celebrate for the older kids; Evan was off work and enjoyed taking them to the library for the festivities there and just a few rounds of trick-or-treating; the weather was so crummy here, it wasn't even worth any of the hassle!

Heading home, luckily not in the dead of winter like the other 2

The welcoming committee

Great picture of Aunt Lana and Uncle Kyle

Getting ready for a bunch of visitors

Grammy, Bob, and the kids in their special Mickey/Minne jammies from Aunt Connie

Enjoying cupcakes (courtesy of Nana) for the "birthday party" celebration for Baby Alice

Already got him wrapped around her finger

A very happy crew

A very proud great-grandma

An unusually warm and beautiful day for a short walk/bike ride

I really like this picture, even with Alice in hysterics.  We were putting lotion on her after her bath and she wasn't a big fan of that

Dash (with a mask that's just a teensy bit too tight) and Cinderella

Our little pumpkin; Luke's pet name for her

Alice Eleanor

She's here....and a week early at that!  We are so excited to announce the birth of our 2nd daughter, Alice Eleanor, born on October 24th at 9:10am, weighing 7lbs 13oz and 21.5" long!

Wow, as usual, we are completely smitten with our 3rd blessing from God!  Alice had been letting me know for over a week that she was really getting ready to make her grand entrance, as I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions since my 38 week appointment.  Every time I would actually stop and remember to pay attention to them (vs ignoring and telling myself there is no way she would come early), they would be sporadic and nothing I felt was worthy of heading to the hospital.  Right after my 39-week appointment, I just knew that there was no way she was waiting any longer.  I went to bed on Wednesday night and woke at 3am with contractions.  I finally thought to myself that I should get up and pay attention, and I'm sure glad that I did; after an hour of very strong, consistent contractions, I woke Evan up and quickly got our things around.  We arrived at the hospital a little before 6am and this little lady was here in no time!

She was rather feisty right after she was born, as she was crying and crying nonstop.  Evan and I just looked at each other and wondered what life now had in store for us!  As per usual, we didn't decide on a name until well after she was born, but both felt in the end that Alice was the name chosen for her.  

More to come on this sweet little lady!

Long fingers just like her older sister!

So little, and so precious

Another one of daddy's little girls

Love those eyes!

Meeting her older siblings for the 1st time!

October 2013

October officially became waiting-for-baby-to-eventually-come month, as it was an exceptionally long and tiring pregnancy for sure!  I started with Braxton Hicks contractions around 6 months and they continued, coming even stronger throughout the month of October.  We tried to nestle in here at home and eagerly await our 2nd daughter's arrival, while also cherishing this time as a family of four for just a bit longer.

Jane's pre-school took a trip to the fire station and it was a great time, although Jane was feeling a bit under the weather.  We also braved a little chilly night and took the kids to their first (and only) Rochester Zebra football game.  We had fun bundling up and watching the game; and by watching I mean talking about the concession stand, cheerleaders, elephant ears (long discussion ensued about the fact that there weren't actually elephant ears at the football game), and pretty much anything but football.  The most memorable part of the evening was allowing Luke to try some blue Powerade, only to have him ask the next day for that "yummy blue milk" - he still talks about it today!

Evan and I enjoyed putting the kids to bed and finishing our Breaking Bad marathon and starting The Walking Dead; evening rituals included hunkering down in our basement and watching 2-3 episodes a night while we patiently (sort of) awaited the arrival of our daughter!

Morning before Jane's field trip

After awhile, the fire station just isn't all that exciting to 3-yr old girls

It was a beautiful day and fun memory

The kids LOVE taking baths together; Evan left them alone for 10 minutes and secretly caught them laughing and playing with tons of great pics on our camera.  They love being silly together.  They are both getting so big it's almost impossible to bathe them together any longer.. :(

Bundled up at the football game!

Jane and mommy (2 days before baby arrived!)

They love this Mickey Mouse piano book from Great-Grandma S.  Lots of time "practicing and infructing (instructing)" says Jane.

Jane debuted her artistic ability with this Magna Doodle portrait of our family.  She drew each person.  I love how Daddy was the 2nd from the right...