The Zoo meets River

maddie sitting and making sure River is okay. Common sight in our house these days

A lot of people have been asking how all our animals are adjusting to a little nugget being around.

To be honest I was nervous bringing him home. Mostly because of the cats - not the dogs. Cats can be unpredictable you know?

Well the second we walked in the door Maddie & Oliver were all over River sniffing him and wanting to lick his head. Super excited. Perfect.

Eddie (the fat cat) just hung out like nothing changed and eventually walked over to sniff his car seat. Sam (the black cat) went and hid under the coffee table. And for the first day wasnt too sure about him.

So Sam was the only one who seemed to notice the change. And by the 2nd day she was fine and even comes up and sniff's River now and is perfectly happy sitting next to all of us. Eddie cracks me up because he wants to be right next to us all the time.

Maddie loves him the most so far. She wants to nurse on him (lick his head) when he cries and Oliver jumps up the moment he cries too.

So praise the Lord they are all adjusting well. For having 4 animals we never knew what would happen. But maybe because we have 4 - its easier?! Who knows! I'll post more pictures of all them together soon. River just woke up.

starting him young

Go Mavs!!

asking River what he thinks of the spurs.. (we dont like the spurs in this household) 

(yawwwwn... the games start way to late here)

(please actually win tonight.. please.)

Love, your littlest fan. 

Rivers first friends

Im currently listening to our son snore as his takes a nap with Freeland on the couch and I couldnt love that noise anymore. its so sweet. I actually got the camera out to record it because I love it that much.

So since I have a little break I thought I would post about River's first friends that he met at the hospital. Freeland & I felt so loved and blessed by all the friends who stopped by the hospital to celebrate with us and meet River. We actually didnt expect anyone to come by initially since it was Easter weekend so we were especially blown away when all our friends showed up throughout the weekend.

Camille & Henry came first and waited in the waiting room with my mom. It was so sweet & I loved knowing they were there. So they were the first to meet him along with my mom. And then everyone else came by throughout the rest of the weekend.

Here are some pictures of just a few of the friends River met in the hospital.. and the gifts he was given on his "birth" day.




beautiful flowers from one of our branches at work


Scott & Jess had their son at the same hospital 2 days before us (on my actual due date) so they brought him by to meet River. They also live in the same neighborhood as us so we've seen them while we were out on a walk too - its been pretty fun.


proud dads






River & Tim share the same birthday so they have a special bond


Russ' first time holding a baby - such a pro!


Christie & Bill - their baby is due any day now!!!!




Kevin & Becka came by before they left for the weekend! Super sweet of them




Back again on Easter - so sweet.


Sarah & Drew came back again on Easter to deliver River his first Easter Basket! I LOVED it!!






and my mom had this wreath sent to our hospital room so we could hang it on the door. Its adorable - and still on our door today. 

Sadly, I didnt get pictures of everyone that came to visit and spend time with us or all the flowers that people were so thoughtful to bring us. But Im thankful for the few I have so we can always look back and show River how loved he was from the minute he arrived.

One of my favorite moments in the hospital was on Easter morning when Adam, Camille & Henry came and we did communion together & read the Bible as one big ol family. It was a sweet moment and such a beautiful way to celebrate Easter while we were in the hospital. I was so glad they were willing to come and spend the morning with us. Definitely such a special memory.

Today he is officially 3 weeks old (wow Im behind on posting pictures) I feel like he has already grown so much so I promise to post more recent pictures soon.

Freeland's mom gets in town tomorrow and is here for the week. It will be fun for River to meet her. And I cant wait to hear from her how River compares to Freeland when he was a newborn!

more pictures from the hospital

Here are some more pictures from the hospital. Its so hard to pick which ones to post. Oh and have I mentioned how much I LOVED being in the hospital? Seriously, thats not sarcasm. I told Freeland I want to have another baby just because I loved being in the hospital that much. (obv. I want lots of babies for more reasons than that but you get what Im saying)

Enjoy:



























Sarah & drew brought by an easter basket for River & this mustache (that Free is wearing) was in it. Perfect because I made River a mustache onesie!



going home from the Hospital..

still here

We are all still here.. kickin it with a little one at home.

Im trying to sit back and do absolutely nothing while my mom is still in town. So I apologize for the lack of posts. Seriously - not that our life is that interesting to you but I know there is family waiting for me to post pictures.

Hopefully between Freeland's study breaks I can get some pictures posted. (we are sharing 1 computer now)

We are loving life. River is adjusting well too. He sleeps, eats, poops, & pees. He could sleep a long time during the night but for the time being the doctor still wants me to wake him every 2 hours to feed him because he hasnt gained all of his weight back (he lost A LOT at the hospital) But he is gaining the right amount each day so thats great. Hopefully by Monday he will be back at his birth weight and we can let him sleep longer at night.

His dad is absolutely in love with him and its my favorite thing to watch.

Thanks for all your prayers. Post more pictures asap.

River's First Day of Life

Things have been going really well here. We've had just a couple hard nights but to be honest they werent that hard so Im VERY thankful. River is more awesome every day. And his daddy & I are madly in love with him already. Im also trying to ignore that my mom is leaving on Saturday. So lets not talk about that.

I thought I would post just a few of the pictures from River's first day. I edited a few of them but then realized if I tried to finish I would never get around to actually posting these. So here are just a few. I will upload more soon of all the friends he met in the hospital & how much he has already grown up!


checking into the hospital and getting our room


last tummy picture.. 2 days past my due date


getting ready


about to meet our son


this was right when I heard his sweet cry & starting balling myself.




my mom meeting him for the first time






first family photo


River meeting his BFF Henry for the first time