Lia's 4-Year Photos

Today was Lia's 4-year photo shoot, and she pulled through with a surprisingly acceptable performance.  I can't get over how grown-up she looks in these pictures.  There's no toddler left in my little girl!  Below you will find my favorite pictures from the session...

Cool Kids on the Block!

Ron got a hold of Lia's birthday sunglasses this morning and decided to give them a try on Logan's face.  And this is what we got...

And of course his sister had to join in on the fun!

Lia's 4th Birthday!

Well, twelve days after our little boy came into the world, our little girl turned four years old!  With the help of a few others, I was able to put together some semblance of a birthday for my daughter in my sleep-deprived, postpartum state.  We had a combined birthday party with the twins at my parents' house on Sunday, February 19th.  As always, Lia had the time of her life running around with her cousins, opening gifts, and eating cake and ice cream.  We then celebrated her actual birthday on the 22nd at our house with just the Hartland fam and grandma who was down from Issy to help with Logan again this week.  I think Lia was pretty pleased with her overall birthday and can't stop talking about how much taller she is or bigger her feet are now that she is four years old!

Lia and I have been talking about what kind of cake she wanted for her fourth birthday party for a year now.  So, I couldn't say 'no' to making an Ariel cake even with a nine-day old baby under the roof!  I somehow managed to get this cake made and decorated on Sunday morning thanks to Logan's marathon nap.

After a hamburger dinner at grandma's house later that day, we opened up gifts.  Here is Lia showing off her "Hello Kitty" lip glosses.
 

The aspiring artist tearing into her newest palette of Crayola watercolors.
 

Lia gearing up for the big "blow out" of four candles with her cousins at her side.

Blowing out her candles!

Sampling the Ariel cake.

After the gift opening and cake eating were all done, the cousins got a little bored and turned to grandpa for some entertainment.  Callie got creative and started decorating him with gift wrap and such.  I just couldn't pass up this photo opportunity!
 

Lia, Rylie, Garrett, Brynn, and Callie all surrounding their gift wrapped grandpa!
 

Lia's good friend, Kaylee, stopped by on her actual birthday to give her a present.  Here are the two silly girls posing with the slinky that Lia received as her gift.

On the night of the 22nd, we celebrated Lia's birthday by first eating dinner in the dining room.  This is how Logan spent most of the evening.
 

We then moved into the living room for some more gift opening.

Here is our birthday princess opening up an Alice in Wonderland book from Lola. 

After a quick wardrobe change into one of her new "jamma dresses," Lia stopped for a quick pic with her grandma.  It was such a treat to have her join us for Lia's big day!

We finished off the evening with some apple crisp and real whipped cream.  Here is Lia blowing out her second round of candles!

Logan decided to wake up in time to join us for a family picture. 

The birthday girl insisted on one more costume change before bed that night into her beloved Rapunzel dress that she had waited months to get!  I'd say her fourth birthday was a success! 

Happy Birthday Lia Elizabeth!  We sure do love you!

And, lastly, here is Lia's quarterly report of all the things that she has been up to the past three months of her life! 

1.  It is ALL about the pajamas!  She wears them nonstop!  The only time we can get her to change out of them is when we are going outside and that usually takes some convincing.  Her current favorite is the Hello Kitty "jamma dress" that only gets taken off her body to go straight into the washing machine about once a week!  When will she grow out of this?

2.  Lia has developed a definite opinion about what she does wear when she is forced to take off her pajamas.  There are only a few pairs of pants and shirts that she will agree to put on.  She has also developed a definite dislike of tights and it is a weekly battle to get her to wear them to church.

3.  Lia started ballet in the last three months and loves it!  I have already signed her up for the next session that runs through May.

4.  Lia saw her second movie in the theatre last month when we were without power for 27 hours due to the ice storm that hit our area after the snow fell.  We had to think of a few activities to keep us out of our freezing house and seeing Beauty and the Beast in 3D was one of them.  She loved it and was even spotted reaching out from her seat to try and touch the "falling snow."  So cute.

5.  She has become a pro at quoting lines from various movies.  I find myself constantly asking her which character she is quoting as random movie lines come out of her mouth all the time!

6.  Lia has found a question that she loves to ask all the time!  It is "How come?" which is her equivalent to the questions, "Why?"  She asks it several times a day and I now find myself explaining things in advance just to avoid her asking that question!

7.  Lia has developed an anti-stink fetish.  It came out of nowhere this winter!  She detests anything that smells and avoids stinky situations like the plague.  Very random.

8.  Lia has discovered the art of making funny faces and does it all the time.

9.  She has begun asking us to tell her made-up stories of various characters (Snow White, Rapunzel, Ariel, etc) and even prefers them at times to the books in her room. 

10.  Whenever we are debating whether or not to grant a wish or request of hers, Lia will instruct us to say, "Alright," in this funny voice.  I don't know how she thought of this, but I will admit that it is quite convincing whenever I am on the fence about something she wants.  Clever girl...





Logan's Newborn Photo Shoot...

Today I packed up the kiddos and headed up to Fall City so that my ever-talented sister-in-law, Rebecca, could take Logan's newborn photos.  As always, she did a fabulous job and we now have some pictures that capture this little stage of Logan's life that we will treasure forever.  What a sweet little baby!  Oh, how grateful we are that he finally joined our family.  Enjoy!

Just Chillin'

So this has got to be my favorite pic taken of Logan in his first week of life!  This is how I found him resting in his bouncy chair yesterday afternoon.  I absolutely love how relaxed he looks with his big pacifier in his mouth and his sweet, little hands all intertwined.  He's just the cutest thing to me...

Papa went back to work today...

and this is how I feel about that!

Three Generations of Helping Hands...

giving Logan his first sponge bath at home.

This boy is so loved!

Sucker Happy

I know, I know, our boy is barely 48 hours old and already the sucker has found its way into Logan's mouth and heart.  I just think that a newborn with a little "button" in his mouth is one of the cutest things around!  Just don't tell the lactation consultant I said that! 

Oh, and Lia personally requested that she have her picture taken next to "Logie" while protecting him from the rain and other unruly elements with her new princess umbrella (compliments of Logan as part of his coming-home gift to her). 

Hospital Happenings...

Now that we are back home and getting settled, I thought that I would do a quick post on our hospital happenings of the labor and delivery.  The night before Logan was due, I was thoroughly convinced that he was not going to come on time as absolutely nothing was happening!  So, I sure was surprised and almost in denial when my first contraction started at 2:30 on Friday morning.  They continued pretty steadily all morning long causing Ron and me to head to the hospital at 7 am after my parents' arrived to watch Lia.  I got my epidural at 11:30 a.m. and had my water broken at 3 p.m.  We were ready to start pushing an hour later and my little guy came into the world at 5:08 p.m.  My mom was able to join Ron and me again for the actual delivery and we were blessed with a fabulous and supportive nurse and obstetrician.  It really was a wonderful experience and I can't say enough how grateful I am that my labor lasted only 14.5 hours!  Here is a quick photo run-down of our time in the hospital!

All hooked up and ready to go in my delivery room!

My fabulous nurse, Alisha, who was with us the entire day!

Logan's here!  Ron cutting his umbilical cord minutes after he was born.

Logan and his poor, cone-shaped head getting weighed in at 8 pounds 1.6 ounces.
 

A close-up of our cute boy on the warming bed. 

Papa and baby bonding after his birth.

About two hours after Logan's birth, Lia and grandpa came to meet him. Here is Lia minutes after meeting her brother for the first time!
 

Big sister holding little brother for the first time.  Just precious.

Our first family photo.
 

Logan received his first bath the morning after being born.  He didn't take to it too well.
 

Hanging out in his bassinet in our hospital room.  Such a cutie!

Logan all dressed up and ready to go home on February 11th!

The shirt says it all:  Handsome like dad.
 

Ron and I leaving the maternity ward with our new, little bundle.
 

Logan's first, official car ride!  Next stop:  home!