Catch Up: March

In the hospital, I would sweet talk Elsie and I kept calling her my "little squishy". I was in awe of how small and... squishy she was & I loved to hold her close and squish her tiny body into a tender snuggle. She has grown into her name quite well and is the ultimate in squishieness as seen in these pictures:We also call her Miss Squish, Squishy Girl, Elsie-Moo-Moo.Van's life of luxury continued in March and included 2 birthday parties. One on his actual birthday given by his sweet Grandma Julie and one for all of the family and a few close friends to celebrate towards the end of the month. This is a picture of how his Grandma Julie lets him break the rules and get really silly- not because it's his birthday & exceptions are what make it special, but because she is the grandma and she is all about this kind of silliness... ALL THE TIME!
I got a herniated disk mid-way through the month which made it extremely difficult and nearly impossible to care for my family & myself. I will never be able to properly thank all the wonderful angels that stepped in and helped with child-care & meals and I'm not sure I will ever get over the mommy-guilt I suffered.
My mom, who was in Hawaii for Elsie's birth got to meet her newest grandbaby on the 7th. There is something so sweet and magical about grandparents that I never knew about until I started having kids. That unique relationship is one of such magnitude and I feel so fortunate that we live within 10 minutes of both sets of our parents & that they are very involved in the kid's lives. (My mom didn't want these pictures taken since she had been awake & traveling for 26 hours before coming straight over to meet Elsie, but I just couldn't help capturing that moment & I hope she'll forgive me for not only taking them, but for also sharing them.)

Elsie has been a fantastic baby. She sleeps a lot and gets more lovely every single day. Van adores her and has been a wonderful big brother and helper for his mommy.