Ella meets Noah

Watching Ella meet her baby brother for the first time was so sweet. She was so gentle with him and she just kept smiling the whole time. I missed Ella so terribly when we were in the hospital, so it was so good to see her. I knew she was having a good time though, because she was with my Mom and Dad the whole time. So it was really nice to know that she was having a great time and that she wasn't upset about being away from Tom and I. And when it was time to leave the hospital, she was excited because Mimi & Papa were taking her out to lunch at Applebee's. So cute! Here are the pictures....

Just look at that smile.....now THAT is a proud big sister!

It was amazing how BIG she looked to me after Noah was born! (Don't you love the cowgirl boots?) :)

Laughing with Mommy when Noah made a funny facial expression.

My sweet girl. Like I said, I think I was most emotional about being away from Ella. Gosh, I love that little girl.

I love how gently she is holding him here and the sweet, quiet look on her face. I also love seeing her little hands cradling him.

Ella is an amazing big sister. Tom and I are so proud of her. She loves to hold Noah, and help take care of him. Every time he cries she says, "It's ok, Noah. Big sister is here!" Oh, and she refers to herself as "Big sister" now. I have to call her that, Tom has to call her that, and if we don't we are corrected quickly ;) She has had some minor issues with her bedtime routine, that is, she hasn't been wanting to go to bed for some reason and has been giving us a bit of a hard time with that. This was starting slightly before Noah arrived, so I'm not sure if it's directly related or not, but I'm sure it has something to do with it. She never acts jealous or resentful toward him, which is good. We have noticed her having a little more "attitude" with us lately though, which I'm sure is just how the adjusting is manifesting itself. I mean, no matter how hard you try and make sure things stay consistent and normal for an older child, there is no doubt that their world is turned upside down by the addition of another child. But we are getting into a nice routine, and things seem to be returning to a more "normal" feel, or at least what the new normal is for us! Having 2 kids definitley keeps our hands full, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We have some fun things coming up that I'll be blogging about, in addition to updated pics of Noah. On the agenda: Valentine's Day, MU/KU game (going with my Dad and Sis....SO excited!), and Ella's 3rd birthday coming up on March 5th! My how time flies! Hope you all are doing well. Thanks for checking in on us! :)