All Smiles

Sooooo, I got the first camera captured smile from our little Sammy last week (you'll see it in the last picture of this post). He's been smiling for a couple weeks now and let me tell you - it really makes the hard moments and long nights worth it. Seeing a glimpse into your child's personality as a newborn is a gift. I can't wait for the future...belly laughs, hearing his voice, all of it! Grant is quite the lucky big brother because Sam seems to save most of his smiles when he comes into view...too cute!




Pardon the spit-up covered shirt and up-the-nose shot of my man Grant...oops!

Date with Daddy

Wanna swim daddy??

Dates with our kids...something that Tim and I have talked about since the day we knew we were going to have more than one child. We've made time to do it and it has truly been priceless. Tim took Grant to one of our favorite parks in Indy - Holiday Park...you MUST go. Biggest, nicest playground in the area and beautiful surroundings! I know they had a great time and I managed to hold down the fort while they were gone (and finally get a few quiet minutes to catch up on my blog!). Can't wait until Lilly and I are doing regular spa dates when she's old enough!!

Baby Johnson

Tim and I love our small group - we are surrounded by amazing Christian brothers and sisters. One of the greatest blessings we've been able to witness is the addition of children into these couples' lives. Maggie and Derek will be welcoming a son in Septemeber and we had a chance to celebrate with them at their baby shower over the weekend. I was crazy enough to volunteer to make cookies and I am SOOOO glad I did. It was a stress reliever and I love the way they turned out!

Congrats to the Johnsons!

Pause Button, Please?!

If someone finds it, please send it my way. My baby is already 1 month old...time just passes too quickly! I guess that's why I am SO completely grateful for these 12 weeks off to focus on my family and my family alone. Priceless!

We've been running around a little less these days with the crazy heat, but we're still managing to get out. Over the weekend, we headed to Eagle Creek and spent the afternoon hanging around the marina complete with a picnic lunch. They had a great time seeing the boats and a rowing regatta that was going on while we were there. I can see us in a few short years spending time there teaching my babies how to sail! Yay!

$2 and a Baby Pool

This is all the ingredients it takes to entertain my sweet Grant and Lilly. I'm getting creative these days to fight boredom of being home with mommy and daddy everyday. Thanks to the $1 cans of shaving cream at the dollar store and a baby pool!!

Week 2 and 3

By now, we all seem to be in somewhat of a routine again with our family of five. Sam has been a true joy, but we've had our ups and downs too!

One of the not so exciting moments (selfishly for me) is going on a completely dairy free diet about 2 weeks ago. Similar to our experience with Lilly, Sam started screaming the entire time he was awake...it was miserable for everyone. He seemed so uncomfortable and NOTHING worked. After a few days of many tears and lots of frustration, I decided to try and cut out dairy...very hard for me. Long story short - I have my baby back!! No more whipped cream, Frosty Boy shakes, Klondike bars, cheese, sour cream, milk, and the list goes on...pretty much all of my favorite things. Oh, the sacrifices you make as a mommy!!!

Sam seems to change more everyday and we are so excited to watch him grow. He started smiling more this week, but only Tim has had the pleasure of seeing it face to face. I told Tim I was jealous he got the first smile and his sweet response: "well Sam can't smile at you when your boob is always in his mouth!" Well , yes. That's quite true! Ha ha ha!

On a side note related the constant hours at mommy's milk bar - Sam is taking a bottle like a champ!!!! I got some good online advice that we had about a 2 week window to get him used to it. We tried and it was like nothing changed for Sam. He did great and I got 2 hours out of the house yesterday to get my hair done with zero worry! Thanks honey!

I'm working on being just as good at taking pictures of Sam as I was with Grant and Lilly. My new BB Blocks are going to help me with that project. Many thanks to Jenn!! You can find them here...aren't they cute?! Great gift idea!

Happy 2 and 3 weeks Sammy boy! We love you!

Superdaddy Tim

I'm not even sure "Superdaddy" does Tim justice. I just have to brag on my husband for a few minutes and let him know how much I truly appreciate him...

One of the many reasons I married Tim was his sincere and obvious commitment to his family, which I knew would transcend into him becoming a great father. The moment all three of our children's slippery, pink bodies came into the world it was obvious he would fill the role of a fantastic father perfectly. Tim has gone above and beyond - again and again and I refuse to take for granted the blessing of him to our children.

It's been especially obvious over the last three (crazy) weeks. We haven't stopped running all over Indianapolis looking for the best playgrounds, socializing, entertaining, shopping, etc. The only reason we can do it all is because of him...and that's the truth. He has been WONDERFUL with Grant and Lilly. They're a handful, but he handles it with poise and patience.

You always hear people say behind every good man is an even better woman...well behind THIS woman is an INCREDIBLE man! I pray that if you're a wife, or hope to be one someday, that you would be blessed by the same gift.

Fun 4th!

We had a packed weekend for the holiday! One thing I know for sure: we have NOT let having three very young children slow us down!! We made our rounds to a birthday party, a neighborhood cookout, and two pool parties...a ton of fun and great to see all of our friends.

Grant and Lilly have all the sudden taken to being in the pool, which is definitely a bit of a challenge with three children. Tim has his hands full whenever we're near water! Grant has very little fear of the water and took his first plunge off the diving board (in Tim's arms) this weekend...glad I wasn't watching or even knew about it until after the fact. Not sure mommy would've signed off on that!!

Hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend celebrating!

Sam's Grand Entrance

I can't even begin to describe how my heart is just overflowing with love for our new family of five. It's hard to put into words how incredible the past week has been...a week where we've witnessed a God given gift being placed into our anxiously awaiting arms, our love for all three of our children taken to an entirely different level, and a week where we've experienced tremendous love and support from our friends and family. Blessed beyond belief...

Sam's arrival was also an event that Tim and I will not soon forget! My recollection of the timeline is a little fuzzy and I think you'll see why as you read along. This might get a little long...

My due date was officially June 8th and on the day of my 40 week appointment we scheduled an induction for June 15th. My mom made it in to town late in the afternoon on the 14th to be there with the kids when we left the next morning. Tim went on his way to football practice and I jokingly told him to keep his phone close not thinking anything would happen! Shortly after my mom got here my very dear friend Liz, who's a labor and delivery nurse, dropped over to strip my membranes to see if it might encourage Baby K to get a move on it. Weird for some to think about, I know, but modesty is nearly gone at almost 41weeks pregnant! She went overdue with her son and it worked for her...I was hoping for similar results!!

An hour after she left, I started having crazy back pain and felt a TON of pressure. Hmmmm...maybe this was working!? Contractions came on around 6:30, but were all over the place - 10 mins, 8 mins, 9 mins, 6 mins, back to 10 mins, etc. Still not convinced it was anything my mom and I went on playing with the kids, had dinner, moved the car seats to her car...you know - the not sitting still stuff that I do :)

At 7:30, I got worried. Should I have left already to get to the hospital? Do I need to call Tim? Am I just imagining I might be in labor?! Are we going to deliver this child on the side of 465??? I called Liz. After she calmed me down and finally helped me convince myself I was in labor I gave Tim the word to get home. I called the after hours number for my OB's office and was told I'd get a call back in 30 mins...ha ha...this mama was NOT waiting for that call to leave. Tim rushed in the house, got his things, and we were off!

I'll try and speed this up...got to triage around 8:30, I was at 5cm, got my IV and gown, and made it to our room around 9:15. We were about to do this!!!! I was doing fine with the contractions and was SO excited this baby might make it before Lilly's birthday. We walked the halls for a while and then labored back in our room after the pain in my back became almost unbearable. Then it hit me...I'm having back labor...the dreaded back labor our Bradley coach talks about in her videos...the back labor I've heard horror stories about...the back labor that women can't get through without pain meds. This was NOT happening! Baby K was facing the wrong direction and the back of his head was putting a tremendous amount of pressure on my back...a feeling that is more intense than any contraction I've ever felt. When they checked my cervix around 10pm I was at 6cm. I immediately thought that I couldn't do it...not if I was going to have back labor...no way.

Here's where Tim comes in. He is amazing 24/7, but a whole new form of amazing when I really, really need him. And this was a time when I truly could not have done it without him. I labored through the next 2 1/2 hours in another world. I really don't remember much, but I know Tim was doing everything he could...applying counter pressure to my back, getting me cold washcloths, and whispering encouraging words to me. He is truly my rock.

The OB appeared out of no where - I was SO happy to see her. She is amazing at what she does. She checked my cervix and I was at 9cm. Relief in sight!! She finally broke my water and things changed very quickly. Here we go! The NICU team was called because Sam had passed his meconium, but we weren't too worried - we had been through the same with Grant.

I felt the undeniable urge to push finally, which I never felt with Grant (epidural) or Lilly (pretty much came out with very little help from me!) so it really caught me off guard. Through three contractions and a little screaming later, I heard the magical words "it's a BOY!!". There he was. My Sam. On my chest. Just magical. The first photo we have of him truly capture my emotions at that moment better than I could ever put into words. Exhaustion, accomplishment, tears of joy, gratefulness, and excitement to finally meet this little one. Nothing like those first moments...nothing. I am in heaven...

Before things got intense!

Truly one of the most incredible things you can experience!

A short trip to the NICU for rapid breathing, but out a couple hours later, thank God!

It's a BOY!

Tim and I are SO blessed to announce the arrival of our newest addition, Samuel Paul Kegley! Sam was born this morning at 12:40am weighing in at 8lbs, 8oz, and is 21 inches long. He's a precious little thing and has brought tremendous joy to our lives in the short time he's been with us today!

Can't wait to tell you about his birth and post some pictures that capture his first moments of life perfectly :) Tim was AMAZING!

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers. We are so blessed!!!!