Pumpkin patch & the first few weeks!

We've had a fun filled few weeks with the two kiddos! We kept Riley home one Friday when Sami was 1 week old, and he enjoyed some special time with Mommy, Daddy, GiGi, and Grandpa at the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm. Sami was a trooper, and pretty much just slept in the sling the entire time. We fed the cows, goats, chickens, took a hayride, and found the perfect pumpkins. We love the Fall in Texas!!

Welcome to the farm!! (and we are excited to be here)

checking out the long horns

It was pretty funny when the goats ate out of Riley's hand

He is starting to resemble his GiGi!

Found the perfect pumpkin, hooray!

While we waited in line for the hayride he jumped off the storm shelter. He can find fun in the most unexpected places!

Hay ride time!

Waving to the people waiting in line

The fam

He sure did have fun at the pumpkin farm! Then, per Riley's request, we headed to Costco for a hot dog!

She was a trooper too!

Hooray for themed outfits for every occasion!!

Here are a few more pics from Samantha's first few weeks....

Week 2...

Sophie looking over the baby

such a little doll

snuggling with Daddy (she looks SO much like Riley here, especially since she is wearing one of his old sleepers)...

Go Hokies! (again, with the themed outfits)

We have had lots of visitors during the week. Here is my friend Steph from work who came to visit us at lunch one day. We love the company!

Snuggling with Mommy. She sure does love being held!

 Our lunch date Carolyn, my coworker. Nancy was there too, and we had a delicious lunch!
 

End of the 3rd week... until next week, xoxo!

Welcome Home!!

We headed home from the hospital on Friday morning, and we were all excited to settle in as our new family of four.  My parents were big helps and stocked our fridge with groceries, and we had friends bring dinner several nights.  It was so nice to spend time with our two kiddos without the worries of grocery shopping or cooking... thank you to everyone!

Toby meeting Sami... not sure how thrilled he was that we brought ANOTHER one home!

Riley holding his little sis and giving her kisses

He just wants to hold her all the time, and he talks to her so sweetly

The big boy

We were able to time Samantha's birth around Mrs. Wollack's visit too! :)

Nana and Pop Pop gave Riley some money for being a big brother, so he added another piece of equipment to his lawn machines!! 

After her first bath

Lala came over and took Riley on a walk to the park... of course, you can't walk to the park without a blower

Then we dressed Sami up in the cute outfit from LaLa... I mean, the frills, the boots! So fun.

Riley with little sis... again... she is such a good sport :)

...and again!

Grandpa came for a visit too and helped me make a trip to the grocery store.

A big smile at one week old!

The first few days...

We spent two days in the hospital in recovery mode, but we had lots of visitors to brighten our day! My good friends Crystal and Hayley both paid us a visit, and Grandpa arrived home from his business trip on Thursday and was able to meet his new granddaughter. 

Crystal is expecting a baby girl in January, and I know the girls will be great friends!

Snuggling with Daddy 

She was always stylin' in a new outfit with matching hat!

Riley came back the second night for another visit with his baby sis, he was thrilled to see her!
 

Grandpa also arrived home from his business trip and met his new granddaughter and spent some time with his grandson

Happy Birthday, Dear Samantha

I am a bit behind on my posting, and it's for good reason.... sweet Sami joined us a few weeks early on September 25th in the wee hours of the morning.

I started feeling contractions and just "off" on Monday the 23rd, but went to work and carried on with my day. Matt and I left work early that day because we anticipated Samantha's arrival, and the contractions continued... but they just weren't painful enough to head to the hospital.  Tuesday started off a lot like Monday, but we just headed to work and just figured the contractions and yucky feeling was to be expected in the last few weeks of pregnancy.  Tuesday night I just knew something wasn't right, and laid in bed sleeplessly until 12:45AM when I felt my water break! We flew from bed, called my mom to come up to our house, and got everything in the car to head to the hospital. By the time my mom arrived my contractions were PAINFUL and extremely close together. I could hardly sit in the car, and thank goodness there was no traffic at 1:30AM.  Of course, when we got to the hospital the doors were all locked, and we had to head to the opposite end of the hospital campus to the ER.  The hospital staff wanted me to fill out paperwork and sign documents, and at that point I was in intense pain and scribbled a few things so that they could wheel me (over every single bump in the complex!) to labor and delivery.  After a whirlwind labor, our sweet Samantha arrived at 4:51AM weighing in at 6lbs 13 oz and 19.5 inches. She was almost 2 lbs lighter than her big brother was, but Momma isn't complaining about that! She is such a good eater and a decent sleeper, and we couldn't be happier that our sweet girl joined our lives on 9/25/13!

Monday 9/23... before the festivities began! (37 weeks and 3 days)

She is here! 4:51AM on 9/25/13

Daddy holding his baby girl for the first time

Our first visitor was Gigi after she dropped Riley off at school. These two girls spent lots of time rocking in that chair at the hospital!

Uncle Johnny was our second visitor, and we were SO glad he brought food after an eventful night!

We decided to take a little snooze before big brother got out of school to meet his little sis!

Thank you for the flowers and balloon, Nana and Pop Pop!  They brightened up our hospital room!

Big brother is here!! First stop, soap and water for those hands!

He was SO sweet to his new baby sister from the very beginning. He grinned from ear to ear and just wanted to kiss her cheeks!

The kisses just kept coming, I think he loves her!

Our family of four 

LaLa also paid us a visit when Riley was there. He wanted to make sure baby Sami was covered up with a blankie so that she didn't get cold...

...and wanted to make sure she had her hat on!  What a big helper.

LaLa with her niece and nephew!

Riley made a special picture for Sami at school that day. He gave it to her before he left. So sweet...