So, our major change of this year has been the birth of Lillian! :) She joined us on this side of the womb on February 28th, and she's an absolute joy. Of course we adore her, and Dominic and Sophia have been thrilled with her from the beginning - it warms my heart to see them with her, fawning all over her. :) Her birth went smoothly and as "naturally" as possible for a scheduled c-section. We had a great doctor and nursing/birthing staff in a great hospital. Although recovery was long and painful, the birth itself was everything we could have hoped for in that environment, with no complications during or after. I was able to hold Lillian within a minute of her being born - they delayed all testing and gave her to me after quickly checking her over. The nurse helped me with skin-to-skin contact, and then helped Lillian latch on and nurse while they were sewing me back up. It was lovely! She has been my best nurser yet, and I hope to nurse her much longer than my other two - Sophia weened herself at 14 months, after I'd been pregnant with Dominic for three months, and Dominic weened just after 12 months. Lillian's six months old already, and I'm hoping for at least another year, if not more, of nursing. Because of all my uterine/cervical health issues, she is most likely our last baby - so I'm hopeful to keep her close to me for a long time.
Jared completed his dissertation last November and defended in December, so we are COMPLETELY done with school forever (aside from homeschooling our children, anyhow). THAT is a wonderful thing - a very close second to Lillian's birth! Lol. Seriously, though, because more than five of the six years of our marriage have been handling Graduate school, Jared's doctoral completion is a major thing for us. That is one of the heaviest burdens we've carried, and it is a relief to be rid of it!
We have also just bought a house - three months ago, to be exact! First-time homeowners and LOVING it. Apartment living was horrendous, especially during this last heavy (and LONG!) South Dakota winter. It was pretty brutal. Add to that all the difficulties with my pregnancy and oh my, let's just say we are so glad to be in a house. :)
As always, I am hopeful to be back into full swing with this blog, and I intend to post regularly. :) Pictures are to come of the house and the kiddos, of course, and I'd like to get this blog up to speed on all the happenings in our life!
Here's to new beginnings (again!!).......