Papa goes to school!

One of my dad's favorite parts (at least in my opinion) of being Mayor is going to visit elementary schools and having lunch with students that may have won "lunch with the mayor". I love hearing about it and knowing that Ali B will be there next year to see her Papa come to her school and I know she will just light up! She got to have a test run last week when Papa came to HER class at HER preschool to see her and visit with her friends. She was so excited and I think these pictures show just how excited they both were!

Our first week with Beck

It's hard to believe that our little man is 10 days old today! We have truly been loving every minute with this little guy....

At 10 days old, he has stolen the heart of many - especially the 3 Patrick girls. These two can not walk past him without giving him a big hug and a kiss (we're still working on not kissing him on the mouth or squeezing him too tight!) or asking to hold him or whispering "best boy in the world!" in his ear! To say they are in love is an understatement...

I am so proud of Beck's big sisters for how they have adjusted and how all of my pregnancy worries about the adjustment seem silly now! Rhodes, especially, has exceeded my expectations and does not like to leave Beck's side. (Ali is the same way, but I kind of expected her to be!) I'm not sure if it's the fact that this is my third child and I am more laid back, or that it is my last baby so I am clinging to every minute, or the bigger age difference this time - but, so far the adjustment from 2 to 3 babies has been a piece of cake compared to my adjustment from 1 to 2 which was incredibly hard. I have two little helpers (who sometimes like to help TOO much!) and am feeding him every 2 hours (sometimes 3 if I am lucky - with 2 hours of sleep in between!) during the night for 3o-45 minutes, but it just seems easier this go around. I'm okay with little sleep b/c I know it only lasts for a short period (and on the 2 days a week that both of my girls are in school maybe I can steal a quick catch up nap too!) and I sit there and hold him and wish time would stand still. Beck is sleeping a lot still during the day and makes for plenty of time to get household chores done...but I know those days are numbered! One week has already flown by too fast and with the amount this growing boy eats - he will be big before I know it. I am truly treasuring every single minute with my baby boy!

All of this being said - I have still had help most days - at least to run carpools, meals coming from wonderful friends through the beginning of April, and this week comes the true test of getting out and about with 3 kids....my opinions may soon change as I am trying to get the 4 of us out the door! Ryan starts teaching his night class tonight for the next six Tuesday nights so we won't see him until tomorrow - so this should be a true test for me! :) My expectations are low so we shall see! :)

I am thanking God every day for my new family of 5 - I feel so blessed that I just want to pinch myself and make sure it is all real! Life is good!

My boys

Love these two!

Ryan has loved being a dad to our girls (and is a great one!), but I know he is also really excited about having a son. He went out the other day to buy Beck's bedding, some diaper changing pad covers (he had to go all the way to Bellini - not sure convenient!), and some Georgia Bulldawg gear all without me even having to ask! I think he is pretty excited about seeing some blue in our house. He is also already daydreaming about golf outings, Georgia games, and all things boy - and I am so happy that he has a little boy now to make these fun memories with!

Beck in the news!!

Beck made the "Around Town" section of the paper this week...he is so excited! :) Read all the way down to the bottom to read about our little man...

Around Town: Marietta theater-lovers fear it may soon be curtains: THE DRAMA ISN’T CONFINED TO THE STAGE these days at downtown Marietta’s two premiere theaters. Around Town reported on Saturday that Theatre in the Square is in such dire financial straits that it...

Beck Stevens Patrick

Last Saturday, early in the morning, a little man came into this world screaming and stole our hearts forever....There were lots of tears, screaming and cheers of happiness as we found out after 9 long months that this sweet little baby was our family's first son, grandson, brother, and nephew. His mama and daddy were in complete shock and it has taken a few days to get used to using the terms "he", "his", "buddy" (not princess - which was one of the first things I accidentally called him when trying to calm him down - hard to change that habit!), "brother" and "son". The joy we are feeling is so hard to even express - our family is complete with two little girls and one sweet new baby boy and we are so in love!
After baby Beck arrived and we had some time to keep checking on him to make sure it was really a boy...we had a few minutes to try to decide what we were going to call our new son and how we were going to tell our parents at 2 a.m. in the morning. We were debating between a few names - but since we really were convinced it was going to be a girl, we had not completely come to a conclusion on a boys name....deciding between two. We came up with the name Beck two days before after looking at Grandmommy's family tree on ancestry.com (so thankful for her good records to help us decide!) - it is Ryan's great-grandmother's maiden name. (Not after any kind of musician -which we have actually had people ask! ha!) His middle name is a family name of mine - I have always wanted to name a child after my dad and was thrilled that it worked out! We had our parents come in two at a time (grandmothers first - had to follow hospital rules!) and announced their new grandson. Beck immediately had a few more admirers....

After about an hour and a half of sleep (got to love that all of my babies come late in the night - and we don't get to our actual room until about 4 in the morning!)...two of his biggest fans came to the hospital in the morning (thanks to Aunt Ashley!) to find out if they had a new baby brother or sister and were instantly in love!

They both loved holding his hand and think they are his favorite since he always holds their hand when they are near him...
Especially this one.... She is smitten!

This one adores her baby brother too....

But, still likes to be our spunky baby girl and spent most of her time in the hospital hiding in the closet and cracking jokes....no more worries that she may feel like she has lost her place in the middle!

Uncle Sig and Frances, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Ty and Uncle Evan have all been by to meet their new nephew and love on him a little!

In his first few days of life, he has already brought us so much joy and we are looking forward to a world of cars and trucks, baseball and golf, longalls and shortalls and all little boy things! Diaper changes have already taken on a whole new level - but we wouldn't change it for a thing! I am cherishing these first days with my baby boy and so excited about the days, months and years ahead discovering this new world!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

We really can't believe it! We are so shocked, so in love and thrilled beyond words to welcome Beck Stevens Patrick into our lives! He was truly the missing piece of our family and now we feel complete! He was born at 1:38 am on February 18th weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long. He is just perfect and we just can't get enough of him! Delivery went pretty smoothly - I went from about 0 to 100 in no time and, although painful, I will never forget the moment or Ryan's facial expression as I saw him look at our new baby in shock/amazement and turn to me to announce/yell "It's a boy!!!". We both we screaming with excitement - I am so happy we decided to wait and find out b/c that moment was priceless and we are still in such shock. To tell you a secret (in case you didn't already know!), I really, really wanted a boy and of course I would have been thrilled either way with a healthy baby -but my heart is complete now knowing that Beck is here. So far, in his first 18 hours, he has been such an angel - spent most of the day/night sleeping and taking breaks to eat every once in awhile. He got circumcised today and the nurse came back amazed b/c she said it was the second baby she had ever seen that did not cry during circumcision! We think he is perfect and his sisters do too! Lots more to come on the new man in our lives - but just wanted to share a post of our excitement we are feeling right now! Welcome to this world Beck Stevens Patrick - you are so loved already!

The final hours....

Today has been a fun, but weird day! So surreal knowing that in an hour and a half I will call the hospital to find out if there is room for me to come in and have a baby. I have spent the day with my girls and tried to soak in this time, knowing that our family is in for a big, exciting change in just a few hours! We got our nails done, went out to lunch and just had a fun girls day singing karaoke and playing dress-up. We picked up the girls "big sis" shirts that I had made and they were squealing with excitement - they can not wait to meet their little sister/brother and we all can not wait to find out what our final addition will be! Whenever I sit for a second and start thinking about it, it feels like Christmas! Every once in awhile, though, the nerves kick in and I am a mixture of ecstatic/nervous(about delivery)/anxious/overjoyed/sentimental - all kinds of emotions. Crazy to think that this time tomorrow, we will probably be a family of 5! Wish us luck!!

The date is set!

Ryan and I were thrilled today to go in for our appointment and hear great news! While waiting in the waiting room, we discussed what we thought would happen. We always set our expectations too high only to come out disappointed - so, knowing that our due date is still a week away - we tried to go in with low expectations of when this baby would be getting here. Our guess was next Monday at the earliest. We were pleasantly surprised when we ran into Dr. Cauthen in the hall as soon as we walked back and she said she was going out of town on Sunday and said she needed deliver this baby before then - music to our ears! :) I know our faces just lit up! We went back for the appointment and everything looked great - still making a little progress (but, not much!) and still a chance the baby can make it's mind up and come before then - but Friday night sure would be perfect! I have been worried about figuring out childcare for Ali and Rhodes - and knowing this (and knowing that it is a weekend when grandparents are off work - plus, most are off on next Monday too - how perfect is that?) made me so thrilled! We are supposed to start calling Labor and Delivery Friday night at 5:30 and they can either tell us to come in right away or to just wait around and it could be 2/3 in the morning or even Saturday morning sometime! Who knows - but so glad to know there is an end in sight and we will get to meet our sweet bundle of joy (and find out if it is a boy or girl) in just a few short days no matter what! If anything changes, I will be sure to update!

We are ready!

Tomorrow marks 39 weeks and we are all so excited and ready (well, I am sure I am the one that is the most ready - SO over being pregnant!)! Last week, the stomach bug hit our house and hit me last....I was so disappointed b/c, just my luck, it hit the night before/morning of my 38 week appointment. I had felt like it was Christmas Eve the night before....soo looking forward to my appointment and seeing if there were any updates...only to wake up a few hours later with the bug! Pregnancy hormones took over after I called the doctor and heard I would have to wait until the next week to find out if there were any updates....I had a minor breakdown! :) Truth be told - we had plenty left on our "to do" lists before the baby - so, even though I am slightly tired of being pregnant - I know this little baby will come when it is good and ready! Still one week til our due date and we have our bags packed, our house re-arranged and ready, all the baby essentials purchased (unless it's a boy - it may be wearing the same clothes for awhile...or a little pink! :)), etc. Today, the girls and I went to Build A Bear to build the new baby a present. Of course we came home with two new stuffed animals - a red Hello Kitty doll and a polka dotted bear! I tried to sway the girls to more gender neutral gifts, but these were their favorites! :) They had so much fun, but I am not so convinced that Rhodes knows that we will be giving the doll to the baby and not for her to keep! :)

Tonight, we finished off our day with a trip to Scalini's for their famous pregnancy inducing Eggplant Parmesan! :) It's never worked before, but I figured it was worth a try! :) Plus, being that this is my last pregnancy, I thought it would be fun to enjoy it one more time, guilt-free! I go in tomorrow for a 39 week appointment and am so curious to know if we'll schedule any induction or wait until the due date (the following week) to start talking about one. We shall see!

Valentines Daddy/Daughter Date Night - take 2!

Ryan and the girls had another fun night out last night - this time to the first annual Daddy/Daughter dance at our church! Again, they were giddy with excitement (especially Ali...she loves getting primped and dressed up!) and so was their mama. :) One of my most special childhood memories is going to daddy/daughter dances with my dad - that took place in the same spot - our church's family life hall! I had pictures in my head of the girls taking turns dancing with their daddy and him throwing them up in the air like my dad used to do (and I used to feel sooo cool b/c he was definitely one of the tallest, if not the tallest there). Their version last night was a little different, but it looked like all three had a ball! Most of the pictures Ryan showed me were blurry shots of Rhodes in a conga line surrounded by big girls - and some with Ali, Rhodes and Libby either dancing or in the conga line together! :) Ryan said Rhodes didn't care who she was with - she just jumped right in the conga line! I love it! Their night was complete with corsages, a candy bar, pictures with daddy, El Ranchero with the Holles, and, of course, dancing! (their favorite thing to do!) They all had a ball!

Here are a few pre-dance photos....

Ali saying super cheese! (SO excited!)
Say Cheese - take 2!
Rhodesy posing for the camera!

Love this sweet face!
Sweet sisters ready for the ball!
Silly sisters!
Rhodes took a turn at being cameraman...
Waiting for their prince to arrive!! (he could not get there fast enough for these two!)
He made it! Ready for their big night out!
And a few actions shots....

Conga Line...

Rhodes dancing the night away (she came home bow-less)
Sweet sisters dancing!
Patrick/Holle dance circle!

It's hard to believe....

That I just registered my baby girl for Kindergarten!!! Mamas of little ones - as cliche as it sounds - love these moments, they go by waaay too fast. I feel like I should be the one home with my first baby, not signing this sweet, smiling, light of my life up for Kindergarten! I am so, so excited for her and going to enjoy the excitement for now, before the reality sets in in 6 months and my baby girl takes her next big leap to Kindergarten! (I'm going to be a mess!!) I know this girl is going to do big things and I loved seeing her smiling face today skipping with excitement up to her next big school to get registered! She can't wait to be a West Side Stinger!! :)