Coming Home

I was discharged almost 2 full days early!!  Wa-hoo!!!  Madeline and I completed everything on our checklist and were cleared by OB, Lactation and Pediatrics so on Wednesday morning, May 15 they gave us our walking papers! 

When we arrived home, GG had decorated the banister with pink balloons and a sign (colored by Marcus) on the door.  She also made a beautiful flower arrangement and we celebrated with a birthday cake!  So glad to be home with my sweet girl!!!

The boys are already big helpers and LOVE holding their little sister.  They even helped with her first bath.

Auntie Alexzndra came for a long weekend to meet Madeline and spend time with her crazy nephews! 

And One More Makes 5!

Madeline Paige Libertore

May 13, 2013

8:31am

8 pounds, 5 ounces

20.25 inches long

We welcomed our sweet baby girl, Madeline Paige on Monday, May 13 at 8:31 AM.  She was as pink as could be and met with "oohs and ahhs" by everyone in the OR.  She was delivered at UNC Women's Hospital.  We couldn't have been happier with our choice in delivering at UNC.  They pride themselves on their baby-friendly approach which we LOVED!  Brad was encouraged to go shirtless under they bunny suit (scrubs) he wore in the OR so he could hold Madeline skin to skin after she was born.  I sobbed!  It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen!  I was also able to hold her skin to skin shortly after she was born but given that there wasn't a lot of real estate for her to camp out on (the curtain blocking our view of the surgery was in the way), it was a bit awkward.  I was equally happy watching Daddy bond with his princess!  The nurses even pulled the newborn exam table over to me so I could watch them examine her... she was never out of my sight! 

We were not allowed cameras in the OR (bummer!) so our first photos with Madeline are in the recovery room, where we hung out for a little under 2 hours

 

 

Around 11 AM we were wheeled up to our home away from home for the next few days, room 5W24.  Ace and GG were on their way to the hospital with big brothers, Aaron and Marcus... I couldn't wait for them to meet their baby sister!!!

  

Aaron and Marcus were soooo incredibly sweet when they saw her for the first time.  Aaron removed her hat and pet her hair (just like he did with Marcus!)  Marcus kept saying "He's so cute" (we'll work on that!)  Both boys were so gentle as they kissed and loved on her.

 

 

 

We are beyond excited to get home and get Madeline acclimated to our loud and hectic life.  Stay tuned... :)

The Nursery is complete!!

I have enjoyed every second of decorating this nursery!! It helps that I'm pregnant and unable to do the painting (stenciling!!!) and heavy lifting! Brad was a champ! It was definitely a labor of love!

 

A Letter to Aaron on his 5th Birthday

Dear Aaron,

5 years old!  Woah... that went so fast!  If I'm going to be honest, you feel like a five year old to me.  You're so smart... so so so smart!  The things you know blow me away.  I love it when you teach me things... like when we go to the Museum or the Zoo and you tell me everything there ever was to know about each of the dinosaurs.  I love how engaged you've been in school and how much you are learning from Miss. Lynn and Miss. Gwen.  I love how much thought you put into your Friday show and tell about the topic of the week.  I was so impressed last week when you learned about hibernation and migration and remembered the book we used to read (Chaucer's First Winter) and how that fit with the theme of the week.  I hope you will always have this enthusiasm to learn. 

We had a big year... a move from Boston to North Carolina.  Whew... you took that like a champ!  I know you miss your friends back in Boston but the new one's you have made are amazing!  You have a great class full of really nice boys and girls.  Now the news of a new baby... a baby girl, just like you've been praying for!  We already know you are an amazingly patient and sweet big brother and I am so excited to see you with your baby sister.  

We celebrated your birthday on Saturday at the Museum of Life and Science.  We invited your entire class, all 27 of them!  It is hard to have a birthday so close to Christmas and we weren't sure what the turnout would be... about 20 of them made it along with their parents and some with siblings.  It was a blast!!!  I wish we had video taped you opening your gifts from your friends... you are the kindest and most gracious boy I've ever met.  You said things like "Wow! My friends sure know how to make me feel special" and "How did they know I would love this?" and "Look at this drawing... Isabelle must have spent a long time doing this and it's amazing. Can I frame it for my room?"  I'm tearing up just writing this.  I am so incredibly proud of you.  

My wish for you this year is that you continue to explore and learn about the things you love, that you treasure your friends and also stay open to making new friends, that you continue to be an excellent role model for your little brother (and soon to be, little sister) and that you always remember how much you are loved.

My bigga boy... you have made me a very happy Mama.  I love you to the ends of the Earth!

love,

Mommy

It's a... GIRL!!!

A few weeks ago we learned that Baby Libertore #3 will be a girl!  I was very surprised.  This pregnancy has not been very different than my pregnancy with they boys so naturally I assumed I was carrying another baby boy.  I was so sure, in fact, that I sobbed when the sonographer said "It's a Girl!"  Aaron was with us and danced around singing "I knew it, I knew it... A Sister Baby!!!" 
We are overjoyed to welcome a little girl into our wild and crazy nest!  Getting into girl mode has been more fun than I anticipated.  The clothes!  Oh man, the clothes!  I'm having too much fun buying her sweet little outfits.  I better start taking inventory of what I have before I end up with 6 months worth of 0-3 month clothing!  :)

Libertore... Party of FIVE!!!

Baby Libertore # 3 is expected to join our family the first week of May.  We cannot wait to welcome him/her!  Aaron is hoping it's a girl, Marcus thinks he/she is a bug and Brad is convinced it's a Mexican (because I'm craving tacos... *eye roll*)  My prediction is it's another boy.  We will find out on New Year's Eve.  Either way we are thrilled!  

Aaron said it looks like the baby has a super hero mask on... agreed!

Sitting up and looking right at us!

Heart rate of 167... a beautiful sound!

This one is my favorite!  My uterus is shaped like a heart... how appropriate!  

And the Award for 'Worst Blogger on Earth' Goes to...

We have been, admittedly, a little busy lately but seriously... I am the WORST at keeping this thing up to date!  :) 
So let's see... I cannot honestly recall everything we did between January and July but we did buy our first home and move to North Carolina (kind of a big deal!)  It all started when we came down for Tom and Kristi (Baleno) Caley's wedding in April.  It just felt right driving around our old stomping grounds.  Boston was always supposed to be a temporary move... 7 years later we finally came home!  I met up with a realtor (Ashley Gronewald - AMAZING!!) and talked about our wish list.  She immediately sent us a list of 35 homes that met most if not all of our specs.  The Libertore's and Kristi agreed to check out my top 9 homes and narrowed it down to 3.  I flew down on my own, checked out one of the 3 (the other two were eliminated by a drive-by and talking to neighbors who did not have good things to say about the neighborhood.)  We did add a few more homes to the list for me to take a look at (so fun!) but ultimately, we went with the house Kristi and the Libertore's picked for us!  Do they know us or what!?!?!  I put in an offer that day and after a little bit of back and forth, we went into contract the next day!  23 days later we closed on this beauty...

It has 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, Formal Living Room, Formal Dining Room, Family Room, Sun Room, Breakfast area and a 2-car Garage.  Brad is using the 5th bedroom as an office and the boys have decided to share a room (for now...)  I've decided to hermetically seal one of the bathrooms so I don't have to clean it as often (kidding... sort of!)  Our neighbors are great... really great!  We are so glad to be back in NC.

Aaron started Pre- Kindergarten on August 28th... he was so adorable!!  He picked out his first day of school outfit 2 days in advance!  Here are a few snap shots from his first day...

The next step is to get Marcus enrolled in preschool... too bad he misses the 2's room cutoff with his September 2nd birthday!  I'm sure I can find SOMEWHERE that will forgo that restriction... right?  I mean, come on... putting him in a room with non-walkers is just dangerous.  I will gladly obey the "rule" when it comes time for Kindergarten but at this age, the difference between a 12 month old and a 2 year old is HUGE!  Enough of that...

Hopefully I'll return soon with more updates... no promises though!  Ha ha...