Brassarts Visit

Still going back in time and playing catch-up.

My mom arrived in Durham the evening that Brad, Hallie, and I got home from the hospital. Given that I have my babies via c-section, it really is pretty necessary to have help for Brad when we get home, so we were very grateful she was able to get to us so quickly. We needed help after Claire was born, when we had no other children, and I was recovering from a c-section. We now have three older children in the mix, so you can imagine the situation we had on our hands (although, I'm much more experienced at how to handle post-caesarean recovery).

Brynnie's face here kills me.

Nana's first full Sunday in Durham was also her birthday! We made sure to get some good #sistersshotsonsundays pictures.

My dad and Amiee arrived about a week after Mom...because Amiee also had a surgery to deal with. The girls were just a *little* excited to see them:

We make good use of all of the Amazon boxes that come our way...

Brynnie didn't have a sign to hold, so I gave her a napkin to wave around, which she did with gusto.

She made a beeline for Poppy.

Brynnie is VERY TAKEN with my dad.

Another round of #sistersshotsonsundays: special edition

Amiee is the Queen of selfies with the girls.

Brad and the girls took my dad to the museum (they had to schedule their visit, stay outside, and wear masks the whole time):

The dinos wore masks, too.

And the bears came out for a chat!

My dad and Claire worked on her Kiwi crate activities that were medically-themed:

They helped with school, made meals, provided treats, hosted pajama parties, hosted a birthday/welcome party for Hallie, and generally kept the girls as happy as clams. We were sad to see them go (and had a lot more hustlin' to do, too!), but we were so happy that they could come!

A few more Sunday shots

And some goodbye shots:

And yes, their shirts say "I Love My Nana"

Some Brassart girls

Thank you for all of your time and your help! We are so grateful.

Meeting the rest of the Little Women

We were discharged from the hospital around lunch time and headed home by way of the pharmacy to drop off the the prescriptions for the strong pain meds. I called Barbara on the way home to let her know our ETA, at which point she asked us to slow down our arrival so she could finish getting the girls dressed and photo-ready. I love her for that.

We sat in the parking lot of the church across the street for a few extra minutes while they finished up...and while we were waiting 5 of our neighbors started congregating right in front of our parking spot (they weren't waiting on us; they all just kind of happened to converge there while chatting with the new neighbors that had just moved in next door to us). I definitely wasn't super excited about needing to chat with half of the neighborhood (and meeting the new folks) right at that moment. Thankfully, Brad did the chatting part while holding the baby, and I stepped inside without having to do more than wave.

The girls were happy to see me, but they were beside themselves with excitement over meeting Hallie. I knew that I wanted some video AND photos, so I prepped them to cooperate as much as possible while we waited on Brad. They did a good job! They had decorated the living room with potholder loops and hair bows, and it was ADORABLE. 

Also ADORABLE? Watching them meet Hallie. I could have died at how precious it was. Lily even offered to share Trumpkin with Hallie. If that's not true love, I don't know what is.

The covering their mouths in awe just gets me.

First photo of the five Boswell women

Note Trumpkin again

Sharing a car

Brynn held Hallie right before Barbara did, and when we gave Hallie to Barbara to hold, Brynn went and stood next to her and said, "Give it back."

Claire's face is priceless here.

The girls were absolutely thrilled to meet Hallie. They argued over who got to hold her next and were (and are) generally SO TAKEN with their baby sister. Their excitement about her has been even better than I could have hoped for. Love these little women of ours.