Sweet Hudson...

Both of the older kids are absolutely captivated by sweet little Hadley Jo, but Hudson's fascination is the most surprising to me. He loves to see what she is wearing and look at her little feet and hands. He just loves to be near her! Kennedy was at a friend's house (rare these days...she always wants to stay home to be with the baby!) yesterday afternoon, so he had the baby all to himself. It was so sweet the way he was talking to her and being so gentle.

"Mom, she likes to watch Diego with me!"

He loves to give her "smoochies." He stops to give her one every time he walks past.

"Hello little fweetie (sweetie, he has trouble with s-words sometimes)! Mom, she is SO adorable!"

He's definitely still a three-year-old boy. There are times that it's not worth washing his hands ("why AGAIN, mom??!!) to sit down and hold her for a minute, and we've had some near misses with a flying toy or excited jumping around, but I'm so thankful that he loves her so much and tries so hard to be soft and gentle with her. Tries, but he still scares her a little, I think. Even so, she's a lucky girl to have such a cute big brother. I have loved watching it.

And here is just a cute one of Hadley. This is her absolute favorite way to be held, it always settles her down.

I just wish I could hear what she is thinking.

We always say something like "she's remembering heaven," but honestly, it's probably more like, "Where is Hudson? It's a little too quiet."

I know.

Welcome to the family, cupcake.

WARNING: Will make you baby hungry

Or want to drive to Rexburg REALLY bad!

(that's kinda my point...)

Hadley Jo, 3.5 weeks

Bringing Hadley home...

After riding home in her awesome, stylish new car seat, (one of the things I occupied my time with while on the couch with my laptop during bedrest was finding the cutest one possible), Hadley had quite a few visitors over the weekend.

Proud Grandparents!

Grandpa Jay

Grandma Josie...

And Grandma Marcia.

Excited cousins!

Preslie, getting ready to be the big sister herself...

and sweet McKenna.

And happy aunts...

Aunt Trina and McKenna...

Aunt Jenna... we are so excited for your sweetie to come any day!!

Aunt Jami came too, I'm not sure why there is no picture...

And of course Daddy, Hudson and Kennedy love holding her all day. We almost had to write up a schedule so it's fair and we don't fight over her...good thing I have to feed her or I might not get a turn :)

Hudson is just fascinated by her tiny toes and fingers...its so sweet.

She had some jaundice, so we had to bring her home with a bili-blanket for phototherapy for a few days. She was our little glow worm! We are so happy she is here and healthy. Who needs sleep, anyway? :)

Guess who is finally here?!

Little miss Hadley Jo Chambers! After eight LONG weeks of bedrest, then two more weeks wondering if she had changed her mind after she got the "all clear," she made her debut at 38 weeks, on June 9 at 7:44 am. Weighing 8 lbs 4 oz, she was a good two pounds bigger than her brother and sister were. I guess those two extra weeks were what we needed to add that little bit of chub I love so much! She is doing so great, and so am I. I haven't felt this good in, oh, nine months or so, even if I'm a bit tired... :)

We think she looks like Hudson... maybe its just that look on her face :)

So happy to not be pregnant!!!

You could not find two more proud kids than Kennedy and Hudson. They are absolutely in LOVE with her. We all are. We fight over her all day long.

Grandma Josie was her first visitor in the hospital. Thanks so much for coming up so fast, mom! You were so much help with the kids, we loved having you here.

Definitely straight from Heaven...and so worth the hassle!

Olympics!

Kennedy and Hudson have been taking gymnastics this past year, and have loved every minute of it! I was sad when Kennedy told me she wanted a break from dancing, but she has loved gymnastics and it has been so fun to watch them both learn new stuff.

Their gym had their little spring performance a couple weeks ago, the "Olympics." They got to show off what they've been learning every week. Grandma Josie and Jenna and Preslie got to come up and watch, the kids were so excited!

Hudson, of course, adds his own spin to the moves...

This weekend was also about my second week of bedrest (early contractions! same ole, same ole) and my mom and Jenna did SO much to help out around the house - cleaning, laundry, I was so very grateful! Love you guys, thanks so much for everything!

Way to Go, Kennedy!

Kennedy's school had a writing contest last week to celebrate that they passed their goal of reading 50,000 books this year. They had to write a review of their favorite movie. Kennedy was so funny about it, she didn't really want to participate because she didn't think she would do a good job. I talked her into it and she wrote the cutest little review, with just a little spelling help from me.

(Isn't this adorable? She started in pen, and mad a mistake on her b in Chambers. She made me find white-out and fix it, stat. I love her handwriting right now. She tries so hard!)

Some local movie reviewers, Nate and Tony from the Standard Journal, came to their school on Tuesday and announced the winners. Kennedy was a top winner from the first grade! She was so excited! She won a DVD, and they put her review in the paper today.

Yes, almost everyday is a slow news day here :) Not a bad thing, really.

We are so proud of her! She is such a little smarty pants at school, and is reading so much! Her last report card said she was almost at a fourth-grade reading level. We are so thankful for her in our family, she is such a great big sister to Hudson, and is so much help to me. Love you so much, Kennedy! Way to go!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

My little sister is turning 22 today, I can't believe it! Jenna, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you! I'm so proud of you and the mom and wife you are. You are one of my very favorite people to hang out with, I always laugh so hard when I'm with you! I love that you always think of us when you are gally-vanting with Mom and pick stuff up you know we'd like. I love that you are always willing to do my hair whenever we're together, I know it's time when the compliments start slowing down! You are such a fun aunt to my kids, too, they love to see you and talk to you on the phone. I hope your day is great and you know we love you!

Happy Birthday!