Sweet Anna Kate

Poor Anna Kate has been in our arms for the last 5 weeks, and she is just now getting her blog post about her arrival!  Oh the deprived third child!  Here are some pics from the past several weeks with our sweet little girl.  She brings such a fun, new dynamic to our family.  The boys are absolutely in love!  Noah is following his big brother's lead, and Caleb is in love and such an amazing big brother to his baby sister already!  Enjoy the pictures, and I promise to be more diligent about posting new ones!

Moments after she was born...her breathing was a little quick and raspy so they took her to the NICU for a few hours for observation.

Caleb was so sweet...he was so quiet and just kissing her head and looking her over.  He was also very protective and kept telling Noah to be quiet.  Noah wasn't interested at all.  He was having too much fun exploring the hospital room.

She didn't even open her eyes for the first 7 hours that I had her in my arms after she came down from the NICU.  She did grunt quite a bit though in her sleep!

One of my lovely parting gifts from the hospital.  They told me they were giving all mothers of girls a tree to plant as part of an initiative to keep women from aborting girl babies.  It was kind of sad that the plant was nearly dead after being eaten by some kind of bug.

The day after she was born we were released and went to a guest house for our team meeting.  Our team arrived the day she was born!  We had a great time fellowshipping and hanging out with these two families.  We had 7 kiddos 3 and under in one little guest house!  It was awesome!

Caleb loves to hold her but only for a few seconds then he is done...but he kisses her constantly!

Caleb is as proud as he looks.  I have been amazed at how quickly they have taken to their little sister!

Precious little fingers...

and toes...

She rarely opened her eyes for the first several weeks.  She is much more alert now but still a sleepy head so far.

Caleb often gives her things to sleep with...his blanket, stuffed animals, books, etc.

Her first bath at home.  She really enjoys bath time.  Neither of the boys really liked them but she seems to really enjoy the water.

Snug as a bug in a rug!

I took her one month photo in the bouncey seat because I had one of both boys in it at that age.  She is sooooo much tinier than both the boys were at this age.  She also never sits anywhere other than in our arms so she wasn't sure what to think of this thing!

We have tried a few times to do tummy time.  She just lays there and sleeps though so it hasn't been that helpful!  One morning I looked down into the living and just couldn't resist this picture.  It captured the moment...so precious...Noah flying with his daddy, Caleb giving his sister something to look at while she lay on her tummy...just a fun morning at home!

Can you see that sweet little smile?!

We tried to take some creative photos of this sweet little girl...I don't think we should quit our day jobs!

Caleb was being so sweet and just resting his head against her or kissing her.

We give praise to our Father for this incredible gift...what a blessing!

Little Travelers

We have been a busy little family lately.  We have traveled a lot and are preparing for a big move next. The kids are getting bigger and are so much fun.  Here are just a few pics from our travels (I always forget to take pictures!).

Caleb watching a movie with his new friend in Patna.  She is just 2 weeks older than Noah.

Noah is still a "lap baby" on planes.  However, he is anything but a "lap" child!

We were glad when he took turns sleeping on me first then Jared!  Caleb just loves getting snacks and sitting by the window.  Mothers of tiny tots, it does get easier as they get older!

Caleb and Noah had so much fun at all of the play places in Delhi.  I think they will have a great time when we go back to have Anna Kate.  Caleb asks me nearly every day when she is going to be here!

Caleb is pretty timid on the slides.  He likes to hold on to the sides so he doesn't go too fast.

Noah is our adventurer though.  While Caleb was using the steps on the other side, Noah insisted on climbing the ladder on this side!

And the slides...he just about walked down from the top!  We had to convince him it was best to sit on his bottom.

Such a cutie!!  He loves to play.

I love how much they play together.  They aren't quite to the stage where they play together just yet, but they do at times play with the same things.  This was Caleb's house...he wanted everyone inside!

The lighting is terrible, but they are holding hands getting ready to go down the slides here.

Noah just lets himself go and goes as fast as he can...then just plops over at the bottom.

He almost didn't make it through the balls to get to the slide, but he finally forged his way through!

We got a card/pass to this play place so they can go back in September!  It is inside a mall so Jared and I just take turns shopping or taking a break while the kids play.

On the way to ride the "train in the sky"!

Watching for the train to come.  Caleb was really excited, Noah...he was just ready to eat!

Once we got back to Kalimpong, we were in for a shock with the weather.  It is May and Caleb was huddled under a blanket outside in the middle of the afternoon!  We are sure going to miss this place!

Happy Easter...Just a tad bit late!

We had a wonderful Easter fellowshipping with friends, eating good food, singing familiar songs, hunting eggs, telling stories and having a great time! Here are a few pictures from Easter day. The boys and I spent the morning at home, and then we drove down the mountain to meet daddy after a long trip! They were excited to get on the road!

The two sweetest boys we have ever known! Being a parent has made me even more incredibly grateful for the gift that Jesus gave us when he rose from the dead!

They love to ride their bikes on the patio. Noah usually rides the small one while Caleb rides the bigger bike. Of course, there are times when they both want to ride one bike!

He is getting so big, so fast! He has definitely lost his "baby" face this year. He is such a handsome little boy with a great heart!

He had fun hunting the Easter eggs. He was so surprised when he found out there was candy inside the egg! This was his first Easter egg hunt.

Noah just had fun playing in the yard with all of the other kids. He did a great job playing. Every now and again I would hear him crying...it was as if he suddenly realized that we weren't right next to him (but he had forgotten as he was having fun playing!).

Our Time in America

Photos with captions...that is just the kind of blogger I am!!

Noah is such a little monkey. We find him in the craziest places. This time, he found his way to the top of the table to do a little dance.

All smiles just before his ear surgery. We are so grateful the Lord led us to have this surgery done in America before we left. He is a different kid will balance and no ear pressure/pain.

Noah leads the way in most mischief so far. He climbed into the dryer on his own and then Caleb decided it would be fun to join him!

Noah got to ride a cow on his Great Aunt's farm while we were home. We couldn't convince Caleb that it was a good idea though!

Due to many comments on an impending mullet, Noah got his first hair cut while we were home as well. Happy to report he is mullet free now.

Both of the boys LOVED going to the swimming pool. It was pretty amazing to get the chance to swim in the dead of winter.

Noah really loves sweets and he thoroughly enjoyed his birthday cupcake.

We were all sick around his birthday, so we didn't get to celebrate until Christmas. It was great to celebrate with cousins though!

He got a caterpillar cake for his birthday...the kids all loved it!

He discovered stairs while we were home. He only fell down them once and has since learned to slide down on his belly (thanks to his Nana).

We opened presents the day after his birthday even though we were all still feeling puny.

Caleb got to pick out his first real Christmas tree with his Grandad. This is a family tradition that will carry on for many years to come. My dad loves to find the trees and Caleb has fun going out with him!

This was my Christmas present...a 10ft. real, live cedar tree for Christmas! You can imagine it was interesting hauling it into the house!

Again, Noah starting into mischief with Caleb following behind. Caleb has a healthy fear of heights and Noah would jump off a cliff if we would let him.

Sorry....a bit out of order. Caleb had a great time finding the tree with his Grandad.

The church is just across the street so the boys enjoyed playing in the gym many afternoons when it was too cold to be outside.

Caleb got to experience snow for the first time. Jared and I were out of town for my surgery, but my mom got to show him his first snow. It wasn't impressive.

Not to be mistaken, Caleb can get into mischief on his own!

The boys didn't enjoy being buckled into car seats while we were home, but they did have to take the occasional nap in them.

We got to spend some great time snuggling in the mornings with daddy while we were home!