Malia's Story

I'm finally feeling like things are getting back to normal. We are getting into our routine. Thank heavens! Everyone who told me that having four kids is the same as having three obviously doesn't remember what it was like to go from three kids to four! It certainly isn't as easy as they made it seem like it would be. However, it does seem to be getting more manageable as I figure out Malia's routines and her personality. She is such a sweet baby. Simon, Nolan and Bella absolutely LOVE her.

Bella probably "loves" her a little too much. She won't leave Malia alone. Any opportunity Bella gets, she has to go give Malia kisses and loves. The other day I was in the office on the computer and Bella came marching in holding Malia with a huge smile on her face. She proudly said "I holding Balia mom!". . . Yikes! She always wants to hold Malia. It drives me crazy! Nolan wasn't too thrilled with her at first. He didn't want anything to do with her at the hospital. I had to bribe him to take a picture with him holding Malia. He is liking her more and more. He loves to look at her tiny fingers and toes. He says that he is tickling her. You can see the fascination in his eyes when he is looking at her. It's so cute. Simon has always loved her. He likes to hold her and "pet" her (that's rubbing her head).
Here are a few more pictures from the hospital. . .

And here is Malia when we came home from the hospital. She is so darn cute! :)


Ben's dad was able to come out here on the 29th, so he got to see Malia at the hospital. It was such a blessing to have him here. He was an incredible help with the kids. The poor guy, I'm not sure that's what he signed up for. He stayed with the kids, so Ben could stay with me. It was wonderful. Ben's mom came on Wednesday the 31st. They both stayed until Sunday. It was so much fun having them here. I know the kids would agree with me. I'm not sure how or why this happened, but I didn't take many pictures of them while they were here. Stupid. We do have this one. . .the only one. . .

My parents came here on April 7. that was another blessing. It was so nice to have both sets of parents here to help and play with the kids. Luckily, my mom had her camera with her so I have more pictures of our time with them. This picture was taken at the zoo. . .
We were also able to bless Malia while my parents were here. We decided to bless her a little earlier than we normally would have so that my dad could stand in the circle. I was glad that we could have some family here. I wish we could have had everyone here, but I guess that's what we get for living so far away! Here are some pictures of Malia in her blessing dress:

The pink blanket that Malia is on was made by her Tia (Ben's sister Angela). Don't you think it's so pretty? It's her first time crocheting something! Way to go Angela!
Well, I think that catches me up on Malia. I took her to the doctor for her two week visit and she weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz.! She certainly eats often enough to warrant that kind of weight gain. We sure do enjoy having her around. . .even if she is eating all of the time. :)