Two weeks with baby Ava

Sweet Ava has now been a part of our family for over two weeks!

I'm still amazed when I look at all THREE children God has blessed us with.

THREE. That's crazy. It seems like Joe & I are just kids ourselves!

But we are enjoying them so much.

The transition has been easier than I thought. Joe took off a week from work...

that was one of the sweetest weeks ever. He took the big girls on little adventures every day and I stayed home sleeping and snuggling with sweet Ava Jean. What a precious gift those days were! Having Joe around made the transition so much easier for the big girls too.

Please don't be fooled by all these sweet sleeping pictures of Ava.

She is sweet. But she doesn't always sleep...especially at night. Well, actually she does sleep, but only when Joe or myself are holding her. I know this is just a season, and eventually she'll become a better sleeper at night. But currently we've had some serious sleepless nights!

And Ava is little miss personality from day one. She came out screaming and she's continued to speak her mind as she's gotten older :) She really not a fussy baby...but I wouldn't call her laid back either. She just seems to have an opinion about things already and chooses to share it.

I'm loving these sweet newborn days very much, but am tempted to wonder how long it will take me to get back into the swing of "real life". If I had to guess, it will take a long time.

When Abigail was 2 weeks old, I was already taking both girls on outings daily.

At this point with three kids, I'm beginning to wonder if the outside world will ever see me again! I'm just grateful for all the friends that keep coming by...its keeping me from getting lonely for sure!

I have been blessed to have so much alone time with baby girl. I never imagined I would get so much with my 3rd baby. With Joe home almost a week and my Dad & Rachel visiting (post coming soon) and countless friends taking my girls for mornings here and there have added up to some incredibly sweet times with my baby that I'm treasuring.

I adore this picture. All three girls piled on the chair with their Daddy.

He is one seriously blessed man. And he knows it :)

Alathea is transitioning wonderfully. She loves Ava and is a huge, huge help!

I feel like she's my little errand girl, constantly getting things for me.

Its obvious she's done this big sister thing before.

Abigail on the other hand, seems to love her baby sister, but also seems to seriously miss her Mommy. She's been much more weepy and sometimes just needs to sit in my lap for a good long cuddle. I honestly expected all this. But I'm amazed how going from "Man to Man" defense in parenting to "Zone" makes us feel like one kid is getting left out all the time! I think we're still in the "growing pain" and stretching season of learning how to effectively love and parent three kids. But were confident the Lord will continue to help us do so!

(And any thoughts or tips are always welcome!)

We are grateful beyond words to all our family and friends who have served us these past two weeks...with meals and cleaning and by watching our big girls. I can't imagine how we'd survive without you all!! You've made this season so sweet.

I'll leave you with one last picture of our sweet Ava Jean: