Our sweet Cole has arrived!!!

I cannot believe it, but he is finally here!! This sweet little boy has stolen his mommy and daddy's heart in the week he has been here, and it is impossible to imagine life without him. His sisters are incredibly fond of him and our days are spent allowing them time to hold and coo over him. These are very very sweet days.

I was induced at 6:45am and at noon I knew I was ready to push. My dr was not in the hospital so they wanted me to wait for her to get there. Waiting was not fun, but with my wonderful epidural I waited til 12:16 when the dr. arrived. I was incredibly blessed and by 12:19 Cole was born!!

To our complete shock Cole was 7lbs 15oz. We thought for sure he would be huge since he was a boy and the girls were 9.1 and 9.5. But...he is just a little peanut!

I kept making comments about how tiny he was and the nurses just looked at me strangely and said, "he's really over average", but after having two 9 pounders he was TINY!!! I didn't even have any newborn diapers at home, confident he would be wearing 1's upon arrival.

God knew I was worried about this little boys arrival and what my girls would be doing, who would be with them, etc, and of course he had all the details worked out. Since he arrived around noon, my mom picked up Clare from school, everyone went home for naps and two big sisters came to meet their little brother that afternoon.

Our hospital stay was really quiet because of an ice storm on Thursday night and Friday morning. Other than a few visitors it was really just Cole and us, which was a precious time!

It is so hard to believe we are now a family of FIVE!!!! We are outnumbered and I told my mom I am amazed that these three children all live in our home and are ours to raise. What a blessing :)

We had a few treats for the girls for when they came to visit and the biggest hit were these books. Clare has yet to put her princess book down. My mom told me she went up to check on Clare the other night and Clare had a flashlight in her bed reading her book. My mom reminded her it was bedtime and Clare said "Grammie as soon as I finish this last book!"

Cole has been the best baby. He's incredibly content and peaceful. When he has little bursts of crying a paci soothes him very quickly.

I had made this little wreath the day before induction because the girls have always had a sign or something on the door upon coming home from the hospital and I did not want my third being left out!!!

I love this picture. I dont know why 3 seems like SO many children right now!!

The last hospital surprise we had was at 4:30am when my beloved OB (seriously, she is the best), popped her head in our quiet room to tell me that Brittany had her baby!! Brittany was one of my very first friends when moving to Charlotte and her little girl Mae is the same age as Elle and they are the best of buddies. Brittany had come to meet Cole Thursday night, joking she would see us when she went into labor later that evening....and the next night it really did happen! So sweet little Henry and our Cole are 2 days apart! It was fun walking across the hall to meet him!

And then it was time to head home!!!!

He was ready to face the world in his first Michigan attire!

Clare had chosen to go to a birthday party over waiting at home for Cole's arrival (any 4 year old would, especially when the party was at a bounce house!). But Elle was very happy to welcome Cole home.

And as soon as Clare got home, she wanted to spend some extra time cuddling with Cole. (Take note of her "party dress")

So...he is here. Our sweet little boy. I love wondering what type of personality he will develop. What the future holds for this little peanut and the impact he will make in this world. It is going to be a fun journey for sure!

LD and I are astounded that these 3 little babies were given to us to raise and to love. So welcome to the world little Cole Joseph, you are now part of the Jackson 5!