Molly's Arrival

Our beautiful daughter Molly Inez Allen was born on Tuesday November 20th at 5:25 AM. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20 in long. I was induced but she was born much faster than we expected, I was in labor for only 2 and 1/2 hours. We are very thankful to the Lord that there were no complications. 

Our first picture with Molly. We were on cloud 9!

Beautiful baby girl!

Getting weighed:

Taking footprints:

Proud daddy holding baby for the first time:

My mom barely made it in time for the delivery! My dad and brother arrived a few minutes after it was over. 

Molly and her Papa:

I love her face in this pic! 

This is blurry but I love it! Graham's giving me a kiss when he arrived to meet his little sister.

Our first pic of all 4 of us:

Graham opening the present we brought him to the hospital, a toolbox:

Graham liked to sit in the window sill of the hospital room and play with his new toy.

Molly with her Nonnie who came to help watch Graham for a couple of days:

Molly gets her hearing test and passed:

Going home! Molly did not appreciate being strapped into her carseat.

Mimi with her grandkids:

The lighting in these pictures turned out terrible, but they are still good.

We're so glad Uncle Jon could come!

We can't wait for everyone to meet her, we are crazy in love! 

Coming Soon...

A new baby! And all over our house you can see the signs. The bassinet is clean, has a clean sheet, and is set up in our bedroom. The swing and bouncer seat (Thanks Erin!) are set up and have fresh batteries. Newborn clothes are washed and packed in my hospital bag. The infant car seat is clean and waiting for Chad to install it this weekend. At 37 weeks pregnant, I couldn't be more excited or ready to meet our new baby! I was trying to explain to Chad a few days ago what "nesting" feels like: "It's like a little voice in your head saying 'Get ready! Get ready' all the time." It's really a great feeling and I know that in the coming months I will appreciate the TLC I'm giving our house, car, and stuff in these last few weeks. I love this baby so much! I think most parents often wonder privately to themselves "Will I love this child like I love our first?" This is because when your first child is born your heart explodes with love that you didn't even know you had. I feel like my heart has already expanded and made room for this little one equal to the love I have for Graham. What a miracle! I can't wait to see Graham and Molly interact and eventually play, talk and grow up together. My greatest joy! I don't know how you could ever explain this feeling to someone who doesn't have kids themselves. You just can't fully understand it. I know now why when I was teaching, my students' mothers would often ask "Do you have kids?" Especially when their child was struggling. I understand what they were trying to say! They were saying "Do you know how I'm feeling? That this child is my whole world? Do you know what it feels like when someone criticizes your child, even with the best intentions? Do you know how my heart breaks to see them have to struggle and learn? Do you know that I would do anything to take away their every hurt, and yet I know that I can't?" That's what being a mother is like. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I can't wait to do it all again. 

And so, even though I fully remember how incredibly hard taking care of a newborn is, I remember being sleep deprived, I remember how your every thought hangs on breastfeeding and wet diapers, I'm still SO EXCITED. I can hardly wait. There's nothing else I'd rather do! 

(That doesn't mean that I don't occasionally need to be reminded of that, though.) :)

Trick or Treat!

Chad teaches a college class on Wednesday nights this semester, so I had thought that Halloween this year would be Graham and I at home together (we don't really live in a good neighborhood for trick or treating). But then I found out at my bible study that a couple of my friends would be husband-less on Halloween this year as well. We decided to meet up and let our kids trick or treat together. I'm so glad we did because we all ended up having a blast! 

Graham and his little friend Macy were a bit clueless at first as to what to do, but they figured it out pretty quick! Graham couldn't seem to understand that he only got one piece of candy at each house, he kept waiting for more. I loved to hear him say, "tiki teet!" I had so much fun just watching him experience this for the first time. He was exhausted by the time we were done. And I did let him have 2 pieces of candy. :)