Abraham's first days in the hospital

Eli's 6th birthday!

A. Starr is born!

We welcomed Abraham Starr Cox into our family! He was born at 8:04 am on February 12. He was 20" and the OR scale said he weighed 7lb 9oz. (Though the next day he weighed 7lb 13oz. It seems the OR scale wasn't calibrated correctly, so he was likely just over 8lb when he was born.) We love everything about the new baby brother in our family. Mike and I had a hard time picking a name (it was between Abraham or Alexander when we went to the hospital) but as soon as we saw him there was no doubt he should be named Abraham. A strong name for a strong baby. Literally. The nurses kept commenting on how strong he is and how uncomfortable that must have been for me to have him moving around in-uterine. Yeah. It was. And he is worth it. Abraham (also know as: Baby Abey, Abe, Baby Brother, or Hammer) is such a good baby. He sleeps, eats, and when his eyes are open seems to look deep into our souls. I think he already has wisdom beyond his years. 

The delivery (planned c-section) went perfectly. Everything about having the baby and the hospital stay went so well. I had planned on staying three or four days (I do have four children under 6) but Abraham and I were doing so well I was ready to get home the second day. So we came home on Saturday, Valentine's Day, and we're able to all be together for Eli's bday the next day!

Gma and Gpa Romney came down to help us with kids and everything. It is such a huge blessing to me to have my mom here when I have a baby. She even stayed the night at the hospital with me so Mike could be home with the other kids. Isaac and Olivia were getting over colds so we decided not to have the kids come down to the hospital while I was there. Olivia did not handle this well. The day we got home she screamed and cried and lost her mind demanding I carry her everywhere and never leave her side. Guess what I can't do two days after having a c-section? Yep, pick up and carry around a two year old. So that was a hard transition. But other than that, the kids have all been fantastic and they absolutely love their brother. They all want to hold him, help him, just be around him and talk to him. 

Gma and Gpa Romney stayed the whole next week with us. I took advantage of this and slept as much as I could while Mike and my mom took care of the kids and house. And it was so nice to have my dad here to see the new baby and spend time with all the kids. He has just been diagnosed with ALS, so any time we can spend together is precious to all of us. 

Olivia is Two!

Our little princess turned two years old yesterday. We had a fun day celebrating little Livy all day. The boys were sweet to her and tried to make the day extra special for her. Unfortunately it turns out Olivia and Isaac have colds, so they were pretty tired by the end of the day. I got up early and got us donuts for breakfast, but Olivia woke up cranky (I didn't realize she was getting sick) and didn't want to eat it. We were getting the kids dressed for the day and then we're going to open presents. Olivia heard the open presents part and started ripping the paper off without any of us there! She loves her new scooter, helmet, and baby with stroller! We decided we would take the kids out to pizza (at Grimaldi's, our favorite!) for dinner/family night. It was fun to celebrate Olivia's bday and have one last family outing with the kids before the new baby arrives. Olivia and Isaac both fell asleep on the way home ( we finally realized they were sick) but managed to wake up for cupcakes. 

Eli's Early Birthday Celebration

Eli has been talking about his upcoming 6th birthday for months. He's been making big plans, but with baby brother arriving just a few days before and me likely still being in the hospital a big friend birthday party was not to be. Instead he got to go to Bounce U with his family and cousins, then we went for hamburgers and milkshakes after--his favorite!