one week old

Oh, it is so fun having a cute little baby in the house!






JoAnne likes to sleep in her car seat. So far, this has been her home. It is nice and portable and small enough to move if I need to!

lex is definitely the one who asks to hold the baby the most. One morning I heard her open the door first thing in the morning as she was coming out of her room saying, "JoAnne.....where are you?" She is often baby hunting! (I sometimes "hide" JoAnne so that she can have some rest without little hands all over her!) Lex does a good job washing her hands and sitting down so she is ready for her turn to hold JoAnne.



One morning Clare held JoAnne for a long time, and eventually JoAnne fell asleep in her arms. Clare now knows she is an expert baby holder!







Sisters!! I never had any sisters myself so I feel these girls are very lucky!


Many have asked how Tressel has done with a new baby. I would say of all the living creatures in the house he has been the easiest to deal with. He smells the baby once or twice a day. Does not lick her. And then he walks away. He has been surprisingly mellow which makes me think he can sense that I need a little peace. (The kids cannot sense that at all and have been crazy, whining and completely baffled as to why I am resting, napping and not going any place fun. Calvin has asked me every morning, "can we go to sea world today?")




Calvin is not in any of these pictures but he is here!! He loves JoAnne. He told dave a couple of days ago, "I love JoAnne more than I love anyone else in the world."


I came home Friday night (day after she was born). This was a mistake. I could have stayed til sat morning but dave begged me to come home and assured me I'd get more rest at home, where he would take care of the 3 big kids, than in the hospital with nurses bothering me. By the time we got home it was 11pm. By midnight we were laying down to bed and the @#$* pager went off. I packed up my baby and went to the guest room to sleep. Baby was up several times, Clare was up twice crying becuase her ear hurt. I tried texting dave so he could take care of clare but he slept right through it. I made several trips up and down the stairs getting medicine for clare and drinks for her during the night. I was not a happy camper. By the next afternoon I was somewhat over my bitterness but still very tired. I know Dave had good intentions, but once I was home there wasn't really any way to keep the big kids from bothering me every minute. They were super excited to have me home and see the new baby. That is just the nature of the game when you have more than just a baby. 4 kids is BUSY!! This is a picture of us getting ready to leave the hospital around 9:30 or 10pm.