Luke's First Party

These photos are more than a little late. But then, you probably expected that. We have a lot around here -- a lot of love, a lot of laundry, a lot of little children. But with all that (and a laptop that has given up the ghost, and another laptop tied up in dissertation writing), we don't have a ton of spare time for blogging. One day we'll catch up. Probably around the time I fit in my skinny jeans... (By which I mean: don't hold your breath, friends!)

After a few (long) days in the hospital, it was finally time to head home to the circus. We loaded Luke into his infant seat. He was not impressed. However, he calmed down completely once we got moving.  He spent the trip home sleeping.  His parents just kept repeating, "We have four kids!"

We did not intend to take Luke home without pants on... but I had foolishly brought little footie pants for him, and those wouldn't have allowed the nurses to confirm that Luke was actually ours at the door -- at least not without unbuckling him and undressing him. (The nurses had to check his hospital anklet to match up with my hospital bracelet.) We covered him with a blanket, but he wore no pants, poor guy!

We were welcomed as we pulled up to the curb...

The girls love their dot markers!

And even more warmly welcomed once we walked in the door!

The children and their dad (who is, in fact, Super Dad, by the way) had planned a welcome home party for Luke, complete with Curious George party hats, paper plates, and, of course, balloons.

While Dad and Nan and Grandpa had a chance to hold little Luke, Mama caught up on some of the snuggling that hadn't happened the last few days.  John David wasn't too interested in snuggling -- he was more interested in the balloons!  But Mama's girls needed some extra snuggling.  We're not at all accustomed to being apart from another, and they took the separation harder than we'd anticipated.

Of course, no party would be complete without a cake!  We sang to Luke and blew out candles for him, and we happily ate some delicious cake.

We're so happy to be home!

Unfortunately for you, Luke, you don't get to pick your family...

Welcome Flash (a.k.a. Luke Bennett Golby)!

We are proud to announce the arrival of our 4th child, Luke Bennett Golby. Luke tipped the scales at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and was 21-1/4 inches long.

He also had big feet and long fingers and toes, like his dad.

Despite Kristen's last-minute push to name him Tim or Buster (in honor of the Giants win last night), we compromised on Luke (maybe he'll be a doctor) Bennett (Kristen's grandfather's middle name). I'm pretty sure the girls will still call him Flash. He's totally got the blonde hair for it.

In fact, he also came out like a flash. After having to be induced, Luke shot out like a rocket. Seriously, the delivery was fast. The doctor described it as "half a push," and that might have been excessive. I told Kristen that I only can give her credit for delivering 3 kids now, which she didn't find nearly as funny as I did. But I couldn't be more proud of her. She's amazing!

Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers. We feel really blessed, even though we might be a bit overwhelmed. As I told Kristen, when we moved from 2 to 3 kids, we switched from man-to-man to zone defense. Now that we have four kids, four and under, we can only do triage!