Harper Claire Ellis

Born on February 23rd, weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 in long.  She is just precious and we are so in love with her!

Here is me at 39 weeks the morning before my scheduled c-section...

Last family of four picture...

Harper in the NICU...

Going home after only 3 days!  We were so ecstactic!

In her car seat, going home to meet her brothers!

Meeting her big brothers for the first time...

{with her being in the NICU, nobody under 18 could go see her, including her brothers and cousins}

I still can't believe I have three! Love them!

Harper is doing awesome at home.  She loves to eat and sleep, which is fine by me!  After getting checked out thoroughly in the NICU and by the pediatric cardiologist, her heart looked exactly like they thought it would and is pumping well.  She is on Digoxin, which is what I took while pregnant with her.  She goes to the cardiologist on Friday as well as the pediatrician, so we will know more about how often she needs to be seen after Friday.

Here she is at one week...

The boys are doing great too.  They really don't pay too much attention to her which is understandable since they're boys.  It is cute to watch them pat her on the head and give her a little kiss on the forehead, though.  Aaron has been Super Dad lately.  I really don't know what I would do without him.  My Mom has also taken off work a few days to come over and entertain the boys or sweep my kitchen floors.  I'm not sure what I will do when I'm on my own! 

Anyways, thanks for your continued prayers for Harper and for our family of 5.

10 years

10 years ago today, Aaron and I went on our first date!  Here are some pictures of our first years together...

This was the summer of 2001 at church camp...we were just friends then...

Our 1 year anniversary... Feb. 22, 2003

The night of our engagement...  Sept. 2003

Our wedding day...  June 26, 2004

We've come a long way!  Tomorrow {Lord willing} we are having our third baby!  God is so good to us.  Thanks for reminiscing with me!

Changes

Not only has my blog gotten a makeover, {please don't judge my amateur blog design skills}, our lives over here are about to be made over again.

3 days {or less...depending on if she'll wait until the c-section} and we'll have a newborn again.  We cannot wait to meet our Harper and put a face with the precious girl our thoughts and prayers have been with for awhile now.  Everything is ready to go.  Not sure if I'm quite ready for the schedule of a newborn with two other kids, but through God's grace we will ALL {whether we like it or not} adjust to the change!

So, please pray for the delivery to be smooth and uneventful and for Harper's heart to look and pump perfectly :)

Thanks again for all your comments and prayers over the last several months.  We will keep you updated with her arrival.

Harper's Nursery

Harper's nursery is finally done!  It took awhile, but we like how it turned out.  I love to go and sit and read or be on pinterest.  I can't wait to see her in the room.  After all, it's for her, right? 

When thinking about a girls room, I was in heaven, and a little overwhelmed!  There is so many directions to go in.  I knew I wanted it to be girly and something she could grow into.  I knew I wanted pink and gray in the nursery, but really didn't have any kind of direction I was going in until I found the bedding and crib.  I didn't want to use the boys crib, because I pictured a white, dainty crib for Harper.  We sold the boys' crib on craigslist and bought the used, {new to us} Jenny Lind crib on craigslist.  My parents bought us the bedding {THANK YOU!} and Aaron's parents' gave us a dresser they had {THANK YOU!}.  The rocker has been with us since Noah was a baby and has stayed in great shape after 5 years!  The rest just came together as I saw it!

Here's the tour!

Crib: Craigslist

Bedding: Serena & Lily.
Rug: Zigzag printed rug from Urban Outfitters.

I found the old window at Canton and got the wreath idea from this blog.

Close-up of the bedding...

Dick and Jane prints found here.
Frames: Ikea Ribba in white.

Bookcase: Ikea Billy bookcase in white, backed with paper Christmas wrapping paper from Papyrus.

Found this idea on pinterest...

Curtains: Ikea Vivan curtains with trim found at Hancock fabrics.

Fabric Hoops idea found from, where else, Pinterest.

I found the little side table at TJ Maxx and my wonderful husband painted it in Valspar's Crystal Aqua.

I ordered the pillow off Etsy from this shop.

These were easy and inexpensive to do!  I might add one more...

My wonderful husband painted the dresser {not sure the color...it is the color of our kitchen cabinets that we had left over}.  The top is painted in Crystal Aqua as well.

Shelf: Ikea Lack shelf in white.

Chalkboard paint is one of the greatest inventions!  This was an old mirror that a friend gave me.  Once again, the frame is painted in Crystal Aqua.

My friend made this bow holder...love it!  I also, love that Harper has so many bows already!

Oh, I almost forgot.  The wall paint is Valspar's Polished Silver.

The End!

2 weeks from tomorrow is the BIG day!  We are getting excited around here!

February!

It's the 1st! 1 month till my due date, but, more importantly, 3 weeks till my scheduled c-section! Crazy! I'll be 36 weeks tomorrow.

This pregnancy has been one BIG roller coaster. On Monday we had an appointment with Dr. Laird {aka the heart doctor} and got a really good report. After a long fetal echo, {she was very wiggly...probably shouldn't have had that frap before hand!} Dr. Laird told us that this is the best her heart has ever looked! He said her right ventricle is in the normal range and looks to be healthy, that her VSD {hole} is small and sometimes he has a hard time seeing it, and the leak from the tricuspid valve is still mild. He used the word encouraging a lot and even said that the chances of surgery after birth are small to unlikely. This had to have been the best news we've received since we found out Harper was a girl! Praise God for such great news. We won't see Dr. Laird again until after she is born.

Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and comments. We truly believe that God is in control and ask that you keep praying for Harper. We cannot wait to meet her!

What?!

I haven't blogged in over a month?!  What's up with that?  We've been busy around here.  My {29th} Birthday, Christmas, and a New Year happened.  Here are some of my favorite pics from the holidays.

This picture was on our Christmas card.  Photo taken by my friend, Mckenzie.

The boys helping pick out our tree...

This picture was before we left for Aaron's work Christmas party.  It was western themed, hence all the denim and pearl snaps.

Noah & friends at his preschool Christmas party...

Me & Noah {I have no pictures of Cohen at his party because he was sick that day and stayed home with Daddy}

The cousins on Christmas Eve...

And here are the boys on Christmas morning...

Christmas is over and its 2012 which means Harper will be here soon.  I can't believe I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow!  Only 6 more weeks {or less}! 

Be looking for {because I know you all are on the edge of your seats} for a nursery tour soon.  It's almost done!

Happy 2012 to all of you!  Blessings to you & your families!

Her name

We decided on her name a few months ago.  My goal was to know her name by the time I went to First Monday at the beginning of November.  Sounds dumb, I know, but I wanted to buy a few things especially for her!  It took us awhile for us {Aaron & I} to agree on a name.  We had plenty of boys names, of course, but finding the perfect name for our daughter was tough!  When all was said and done we agreed on a name that had come up when I was pregnant with Cohen.  It was Cohen's girl's name, I guess you could say.  We have loved it for almost 3 years, so we are bound to love it forever!  So, our precious baby girl's name is...

We definitely can't wait to meet our little Harper!  Or "Hawper" as Cohen says. :)