Easter 2013

Easter Sunday was finally a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy the day with Grammy and Grampy Civiello! The kids found more eggs (they were most excited about the ones in their room) and Ben finally found the M&Ms inside and how to open the eggs.... this is the face he made when he discovered that these eggs had already been opened;)  After gifts and more than six months worth of chocolate and candy before 10 AM, we took a gorgeous "hike" to the duck ponds and through the cemetery. The kids finished the morning with a picnic lunch in the backyard.  Audrey slept through almost everything, so I would say she continues to adjust to the chaos well!

Easter Egg Hunts

Saturday morning we (miraculously) got everyone up and going to be able to attend the Easter egg hunt at the Children's Museum.  The kids had so much fun and it was much less of a zoo than I had anticipated.  The coolest part was that most of the eggs were filled with finger puppets so we now have lots of puppet shows with all of our new animal friends.  Later in the morning we returned from the museum to a visit from Aunt Amy, Trey, Grammy & Grampy Civiello and Aunt Andrea.  The boys played together and had a great time finding all of the eggs on our front lawn. I didn't get a great picture because they were all too busy eating the M & Ms left inside the eggs;)  

First Days Home

We ventured home after a mere 48 hours in the hospital, but are getting much better rest at home.  All of the big brothers are so excited to have her home and are all so eager to help. Ben has been the biggest surprise because he really LOVES her.  He is constantly hugging and kissing her in a very gentle way.  He always needs to know where she is and constantly checks on her to make sure she is ok.  He tries to help change her diaper, give her the pacifier and definitely lets us know to attend to her immediately if she cries... we will see how long this lasts;)

Audrey Alice Civiello Arrives (and we are now officially a family of SIX)!

Audrey Alice joined our family on Monday, March 25th at 12:53 pm.  She was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long.  She has impeccable timing!  March has been a terribly busy month for Gabe at work (not to mention the whole moving thing at home, we have gone under contract on a house in Farmington and are trying to get our house on the market here)- if she had arrived even hours earlier it would have been difficult and in conflict with Gabe's work;)  Our c-section was scheduled for Thursday, March 28th, but like her brothers she decided she didn't want to wait that long to meet everyone.  Gabe finished his week and weekend of inpatient service at 6am on Monday morning and by 9 am we were heading into the hospital in labor!  

Everyone is doing well!  Audrey has taken notes from Ben and is proving to be a pretty laid back little lady.  All of her brothers love her and are so excited to have their little sister.  The biggest adjustment for Gabe and I having a girl has been referring to her as a "her"... I think once we get home and dress her in all of the girl clothes she has been generously given this will get easier;)  The coolest thing about having Audrey home is that both Gabe and I have this sense of "oh yeah, she was who was missing from our family".  We can't wait to be at home and get this "adjustment period" going as we transition to our family of six!  Stay tuned... I am sure this will be an entertaining process for those not directly involved;) Also, special thanks to our parents who so graciously took good care of the boys so we could both be at the hospital!

Noah Turns 6 Years Old!

We have officially been parents for 6 years, how time flies!  Noah is quickly growing into a cool little man.  He is such a sweet, helpful, thoughtful and sensitive guy.  He loves being a big brother and hates "missing out" on things at home when he is at school;)  He has such a cool imagination  and LOVES playing hide and seek, cars, baking and doing anything musical.  He has such a kind heart and is a huge help at home taking care of his siblings as well as taking responsibility for special jobs around the house.  He has really enjoyed kindergarten this year and is doing so well reading and writing. Happy Birthday Noah!  We can't wait for the next 6 years:)