The last few weeks...

We've been keeping busy over the last few weeks as we welcome the summer months and I enjoy being home on maternity leave.  With a busy life comes lots to blog about but little time to do it!!  So I thought I would do a catch up post and put up some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks... enjoy!

 Nick and Ben planted some new bushes, plants, and an herb garden for me for Mother's Day.  Ben had a great time digging in the dirt with his Dad!

 He's all boy- wanting to get as dirty as possible:)

 On Mother's Day we spent some time up at my sister Allison's house- here is Ben with her girls Anna and Alexa.  To all my cousins who look at this- Remember those days of sitting at the "kid's table"??  What a big deal it was when we were finally able to sit at the adult table!!  

Here is one of my kind of failed attempts at getting a good picture of my kiddos together.  Ben is always talking and moving and Lucy looks cross-eyed every time I snap!  I'm still working on it!

 Ben and Alexa chillin in the world's largest purple bean bag.

I can't believe Anna is old enough now to hold Lucy without any help!  She loved every minute of it!

OK people.  I've had a boy for two years.  I need help in the bow department!!  Poor thing.  I'm sure I'll get the hang of it:) 

 Ben's best bud Owen turned 2 last week, so we went over to the Watts house for cake and ice cream!  We decided it would be less messy to just take the boys' shirts off and send them outside to eat cake:)  

We also got to spend some awesome time at Grandma G's this past week.  She is such an amazing woman- had 9 of her great-grandkids running around her house and it didn't even phase her!  

 Ben watering my herb garden with a little TLC and his brand new cow watering can.  

Lucy is SMILING now!  It makes my day every time.  She smiles almost every time I come into her view- love it! 

Okay- here is another, maybe better, attempt at a pic of the kids.  

Brown Sugar Goodness...

I tried a new recipe today and I would be very selfish if I didn't share this most delicious cookie with you! Seriously, it's one of the best things I've eaten in a while.  As far as cookies go, I thought I had tried about all there was to offer out there.  Standard chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, sugar cookies... you get the idea.  But no, my friends.  NO.  I hadn't tried it all.  Let me introduce:  BROWN Sugar Cookies.

Here is the link... Brown Sugar Cookies

This is a website/blog that my cousins Emily and Sara apparently use all the time- Thanks for telling me about this on your blog Em!  I have been loving it;)

As far as the cookies go- follow the recipe to a tee, no variations or shortcuts.  The only change I made was to cut the baking time to 10 minutes and they were perfect.

Hope you enjoy!!

Lucy- One Month

This past month has gone by so quickly!!  Lucy had her one month doctor's appointment today so I thought I would share some of the stats...

At one month, Lucy is 8lbs 8oz, and she is 21 and 1/2 inches long.  This is the 25th percentile for weight and the 65th percentile for height.  She is still eating about every 3 hours around the clock, maybe she has a four hour stretch at night every once in a while.  I'll be looking forward to that night stretch getting a little longer!!  And you will see from the pictures that she is just starting to smile- it always makes my day.

My friend Jess got me these adorable stickers for each month of the baby's first year that you can put on a onesie and take pictures with.  Lucy and I had a little photo session the other day.  Not the greatest pictures, but it's the best my non-professional eye can do with an iPhone:)  I look forward to giving these updates every month so you can watch her grow!

Big Brother

Sometimes when a new baby comes around, you might think the older siblings can feel left out or maybe even a little bit like they aren't getting the attention that they are used to.  Well, not my Ben.  I don't think this boy will ever fade into any sort of background, which is one of my favorite qualities about him.  Having a little sister hasn't made him jealous or act out, he loves Lucy and is very sweet with her constantly giving her kisses and hugs and wanting to help.  No, having a little sister hasn't stopped Ben at all from being the good natured, funny, and absolutely precious boy that we all know and love.

One of my favorite pictures of him recently, shopping with his Dad at Gander Mountain and trying on cowboy hats.  Boys will be boys:)  

Putting those swimming lessons to work- he is absolutely fearless!  He didn't know I was taking a video, he thought I was taking a picture so you can hear him keep saying "Cheese!"

Splish Splash

Lucy's belly button gave up it's fight to hang on today.  Needless to say after 3 weeks and 3 days, I was so excited to give her her very first ever soak in a bubble bath!  What girl doesn't love a good soak?  She looooved it!  Check out this sweet girl...

The tub time wore her out, she's all wrapped up like a tortilla.  Good to go for at least another 1.5 hours before she is up to eat again.  Sigh.  I guess I better go get some sleep!

Three week update

My little lady is three weeks old today.  Lucy's days, pretty much around the clock, consist of sleeping, eating, eating some more, crying, looking around and learning about her new world, then more sleeping and eating.  As for me, I try to catch sleep when I can, feed Lucy, and eat.  If I can get those things done with time to spare, I might even try to do something like laundry, dishes, or even take a shower:)  My goal by the time she is 6 weeks old is to try to have order back in my household and life, and doing normal things like grocery shopping, cleaning, and maybe even cooking and/or baking!

So last week at Lucy's two week appointment she hadn't quite made it back up to her birth weight, so I am taking her back tomorrow morning for a weigh in.  Hopefully she will have surpassed her birth weight by now.  She is just so tiny still!  Still wearing newborn clothes and wanting to eat every 2 hours, sometimes 3.   She is so precious, and I love snuggling with her and getting to know my daughter.  Here are some of our more recent pictures...

Home with Lucy

Our sweet little Lucy Mae is now 6 days old and we are so happy to be home together as a family, with everyone healthy.  It has been a long week for all of us, and recovering from surgery with a newborn and a 2 year old would be absolutely impossible if it weren't for the prayers and support from our family and friends.  Most of all, I am so lucky to have the best husband in the world, who understands what it means to be a partner to me and a father to his children.

So here is a little piece of our story of bringing Lucy into the world, and some pictures to go with it.

Nick and I left to check into the hospital on Monday morning.  Here is one last shot of my big pregnant belly!

 Lucy Mae Vollmer, born at 1:46pm on Monday, April 9th.  7 lbs 5 oz, and 19 inches long.

Lucy after being cleaned up a little and of course putting on a girly hat!

Meeting big brother Ben for the first time.  Ben was so excited to meet her, he just giggled and giggled!  And since bringing her home, he has been an absolute sweetheart, just nothing but love for his little sister.

Wide awake!

Our first family photo- it's a little blurry but you get the idea:)  

Again, a little blurry but I love this shot of my two precious kids

Ben loves holding Lucy on his lap!

Our little Lucy Mae, and her head full of dark hair!

A little daddy time

Why hello there.

 Thank you again to those of you who have said a prayer, visited us, and been a huge help over the last week.  We are so fortunate for a great support system with our family, and don't know how we would have done it without them.

More pictures of Lucy to come- I now officially have 3 months at home to bond with my precious daughter!