Bliss.

When I'm beyond exhausted, grouchy and bleary-eyed, there's piles of laundry and days of dishes in the sink, when I'm dreaming of sleep and quiet.... I gather up my newborn son (so crazy to say that!), he gazes upward and I realize that none of that matters at all. He's here. I pinch myself, nuzzle his soft cheek and thank God.

I'm a Momma.

.

Smiles and Sneezes

Here's Eli and Daddy hanging out, catching some TV. Of course, Mom thought this was a great time for more pictures. Eli was so peaceful, at first....

But then:

Aaahhhhh....

Chooooooooo!!!!
We were crackin' up.

The First Week

Love this photo! Elijah's exactly one week old, almost to the minute. Hard to believe a week has gone by already. Don't let him fool you, though... he's almost never this peaceful. He's putting on a good show for the camera- it's all an act, trust me! He's extremely good at screaming, especially at 3am! Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa are coming to stay for a while to let us get a little sleep. Yahoo!

So tiny...

Finally home! If you are wondering how big (or small!) a five pound babe is, here's Dad's hand next to Eli. Just six days old, he's trying his best to pack on the ounces. He's hungry all the time- our little piglet!

Day two...

Still in the hospital... Eli's more than ready to head home, but Mom's lagging behind. His delivery was pretty quick, so we need a bit more time to recover. We'll be heading home soon. Here's Eli on the scale....

My two loves... look at Eli's smile! Dad's arms are the best place to be. :)

Meet Elijah!

The big day finally arrived and our Bean is a BOY!!! Elijah James made his big entrance at 1:48PM on January 24, 2009. Yep, he came 3 weeks early, just like we thought he might. Weighing in at 5 pounds 4.8 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches long, he is quite the little peanut! And we absolutely adore him.

Just a few minutes old and so laid back!

Too adorable in his kung-foo hospital outfit, don't you think?!

Grandma and Grandpa's first look...

No Alexander grandson can be without his New York Giants duds!

Last shot of the day with Daddy, rocking to sleep. See you tomorrow!

Waiting, wishing, hoping...

Here's the Bean, snug in the belly on January 17th. Terry took some fun photos of my bump and just in time- my contractions were starting to pick up a bit. It was beyond strange to be on the other side of the camera, but I'm so glad we were able to capture photos of this incredible time in our lives. Can't wait to meet our Bean!