A Family of Five

Our family of five was reunited on Wednesday evening when Mama and Baby Indy were discharged from the hospital.

John David, all tuckered out from "getting ready" to go home.

Looking pensive.

The stay at the hospital had been just fine, but we were grateful to go home a bit early. (We'd had a semi-private room all to ourselves and would have had to share it had we stayed any longer. As far as we were concerned, there isn't really an upside to being in the hospital if it isn't in a private room!)

Mama and Indy weren't the only ones looking forward to having everyone home. When Daddy left for the hospital Wednesday morning, he explained that he'd bring Mama home with him that afternoon. Madeline's first question was, "And my baby?"

We brought him, too. And when we walked in the door the girls' excitement about welcoming him home had not diminished... not in the least. They ran to greet us and insisted we put their brother's carseat on the floor so they could inspect him.

The girls showered him with kisses and with gifts they'd selected for him weeks and weeks before his birth. We celebrated the home-coming in true circus style -- with a pizza-movie-picnic-night! (No cooking, minimal clean-up, and enthusiasm from the entire family -- the perfect welcome home meal!) The girls couldn't have been happier. And their brother took it all in stride.

The celebrating continued the next day, when Indy reciprocated the gift-giving. (There'd been too much excitement to add new toys the evening before.) If the girls hadn't loved their brother before, they certainly would have after they opened their gifts! Madeline received an Elmo toy that she'd been admiring in the toy store every time we went. She couldn't wait to get him out of the box.

And Kathleen was delighted with a "leapster" learning toy, which is now a "naptime toy" and has made announcing Kathleen's nap a joy.

With the girls happily distracted, Daddy got a chance to snuggle with his little boy.

We can tell that Mama will have lots of help with the new baby...

But there'll be plenty of playing, too!

Dr. Kathleen gives Elmo a full physical.

Madeline insisted on wearing the baby's hat. He won't be able to wear it again now until he's at least a year old!

We're feeling fully integrated as a family of five! Our transition from man-to-man to zone defense seems to be going well, at least so far. We are grateful that Daddy has been around full-time since we've brought John David home. We'll see how Mama fares when Daddy returns to class and "real life" resumes...