eat sleep and farm

{ Sunday } getting ready to leave the hospital!  home!   Chillin' at home.  He preferred our bed to the hospital bed as well ;-)  { Monday } we hoped he would use this as a bed,  but he seems to only prefer  it for spurts throughout the day.  Seems our European 'Moses bed' {that we used w/Kara} is his favorite place to sleep.  I took this picture to send to Jason's Aunt Christine   She loves frogs and so when I saw this at our 2nd hand  store, I had to buy it. And it looks pretty swell on him.   kisses from the new big sister.  { Tuesday } yes, yes. we went to Target for our first outing.  The kids love holding him.  Rachel asks me if she can 'babysit' for me :)    Tuesday evening Miles was fussy and I had to go to the bathroom.  I asked Ethan if he'd mind holding him and while he said yes,   he looked a bit nervous since he was fussing.  I came out of the bathroom and Ethan

Dear Miles, You're almost a week old and I can hardly believe how much our lives have changed with you in them. Nothing terribly drastic... just a bit more filled with wonderful . I had been told from other experienced Moms that going from 3 to 4 kids wasn't a big transition for them and I can definitely join their ranks and agree. You're pretty much a pleasant addition to our family and yet it doesn't feel very different . I juggled 3 before you and now I juggle one more ;-) Daddy and I can't get enough snuggle time in with you. And boy, do you love to snuggle! You make the sweetest sounds when we hold you and kiss you and we can tell you love the kisses, because you lay your head back and stretch out your neck, as if to say,  "kiss me here, why don't'ya." Melts my heart. We've continued in the opposite pattern of most and take a million pictures of you a day. I look back at your brother's early days and realize we really had no idea

    moments after birth.  burrito baby!  Daddy & Son  meeting his big sisters for the first time.      Brother meets brother.    Katie and Jason are taking care of our 3 crazy kids while we enjoy this time in the hospital.    Thank you guys, SO much!     probably thinking about labor....    I think he's thinking "oh YOU'RE that loud voice I've been hearing??" :)     Christina, Gabbi and Luci {from church} came to see us!    Annika meets baby Miles :)     Justin and Dylan Dean {from church}  We skyped with Jason's parents and Grandma from the hospital  and I loved a couple of these screen shots Jason captured.  Having Grandparents meet their new Grandson over the computer  definitely isn't ideal... but we were thankful for this at least.  They arrive for a visit in a few weeks!      it was quite an eventful day... and this is how we ended it :) We feel s

With very thankful hearts, we are proud to announce the birth of our son,  Miles Jonathan Arnold  Born on April 21, 2012 @6:22AM  8 lbs 1 oz. 21 inches long  Both Miles and Stef are doing great!  Labor began around 1am, but wasn't taken seriously until the water broke  around 3:40AM. We headed to the hospital and got admitted at 7 CM's and fully effaced - labor was very intense, but pushing began about an hour after we were admitted.  It all happened fast, but went smooth and everyone is happy and healthy :) His name: Miles, for being the first family member born 'miles' away from  where we were all born, in California.  Miles also means strong soldier and we felt after 3 miscarriages,  God made this little guy very strong for us.  Jonathan means 'God has given' and is also a family name on  Stef's side. He is named after her Uncle Jon and cousin Jonathan.

Alright folks. We're at the 40  week mark, tomorrow! I'm more miserable this time around that I've ever been before. Not sure why, other than pregnancies taking a toll on one's body? Its not horrible, especially considering what some women have had to go through for weeks before baby's due date. I had my 40 week appointment today and everything looks good! She said baby has dropped so very much in the past few days, he's technically "engaged" and ready for labor to start. So she pretty much said "take it very easy until he's born, put your feet up as often as you can, and never pass up on a warm bath." :) I do feel like labor is just around the corner... we shall see! I'm gonna be dumping lots of photos from the past couple of weeks, into this post.  Most of you have already seen these on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram...  these are for those of you who haven't :)  Ethan with our good friend Annika.  superhero