Michelle Victoria is here!

We are proud to announce that Michelle Victoria McGuire arrived on March 17th, 2010 at 3:47pm. Baby Ellie weighted 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long. Ellie decided to arrive 2 weeks early the day after my 38 week appointment. She is a St. Patrick's Day baby and was born in a beautiful 70 degree spring day!

The weekend before Ellie was born I started feeling some contractions and I progressed quickly as the days passed. Bill left on Monday morning to travel to WA state for an audit. On Tuesday, I had my appointment and was told that I was 3 cm dilated and to hold tight and rest until Bill gets home on Friday. Luckily, Bill decided not to take the risk and took the red eye home on Tuesday night. The contractions got a lot worse during the night onTuesday and Bill made it home within 5 hours of Ellie's arrival. The labor was like night and day compared to Madelyn. Everything went very smoothly and the recovery has been a piece of cake!

Madelyn is a wonderful Big Sister and is very into her new baby sister. She usually calls Ellie "Baby Sister" and is constantly giving Ellie toys and wanting to give her kisses and play with her hair. We had a little bit of a rough first week because Madelyn caught a cold so it was very difficult to keep Madelyn away from the baby. We had a couple rough days but things have gotten a lot better since then!

Ellie is a very docile and sweet baby but she has not woken up from the womb. She sleeps and eats like a champ and has even slept though the night twice (I forgot to set the alarm to feed). We're hoping that these sleeping habits continue!

We are so excited that Ellie has arrived and we love being a family of four. Bill and I feel so blessed to have two healthy and beautiful little girls!

Leaving for the hospital with my mom. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and Bill is on a plane heading home from WA state! At this point, he had landed in Dulles so we are in the clear.

I am relieved that Bill made it home!

Bill waiting for Ellie to arrive and taking a nap after his long journey home!

Dr. Hirata holding Baby Ellie. Hirata delivered both Madelyn and Ellie and is an amazing doctor!

Proud Daddy!

So happy to finally be holding my new baby girl!

Proud Nana and Pop!

Big Sister Madelyn bringing a present to meet her new Baby Sister!

The first of many kisses!

Our first photo as a family of four!

Madelyn wanted to see Ellie's fingers and toes!

Great Grandma Meme holding Ellie!

Aunt Amy and her new little niece!

Dressed and ready to go home!

Heading home!

Ellie being greeted by Fenway and Madelyn!

Bill hardly made it inside the door before Madelyn wanted to hold Baby Sister again!

All wrapped up in the swing. She spends a lot of time in the swing!

Cousin Cora meeting Ellie for the first time!

First Bath and Madelyn loved brushing her hair!

Ellie loves biting her lower lip!

Rock-a-bye Baby

I know I've said it a million times, but Madelyn loves her baby dolls. In the past week, she has been really into swaddling and singing to her baby. She's practicing to be a good big sister! Here is a cute video from last night:

Baby Weekend #2 and Our Little Ballerina

We had another fun filled and busy weekend at our house. Several of my friends from JMU came down from NoVa for a girls weekend to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Girl McGuire. We used to be able to do a lot more before we all started having kids. Now when we get together, the kids stay with the Dads and we usually can't go far because one of us is usually nursing. However, whatever we do, we always have a great time together and we don't care where we are. On Saturday, we got together for drinks and appetizers, got manis and pedis, had a delicious dinner at Mosaic, and went back to Missy's house to hang out and have chocolate fondue. The next morning, most everyone came over to our house for bagels and coffee. I had a wonderful weekend and am so lucky to have such a great group of friends (we missed you Kate)!

I completely forgot to take any pictures on Saturday so this is all I have. My friend Kelly gave Madelyn a Hello Kitty tutu and Madelyn is in absolute awe of it. She thinks she's a little ballerina and twirls around the house. I think I need to sign her up for dance lessons in the fall! Karen and Missy made me a diaper wreath to hang at the hospital or somewhere in our home. It is adorable so I had to post it on the blog to show everyone. They are so crafty!

We are in the home stretch for the baby with 3 weeks to go. Now I'm just hoping I don't go into labor because Bill leaves this weekend to to Washington State for a week. We spent Sunday going through the baby boxes in the attic and got the car seat, bouncy seats, and some other things back together and washed. The nursery is still empty because the furniture still has not arrived. I'm mad but there is nothing I can do:) We'll keep everyone posted!

Our little ballerina!

Adorable diaper wreath!

Baby Weekend #1

We have enjoyed some fun events preparing for baby Girl McGuire to arrive. Last Saturday, the girls from my bunco playgroup took me out to lunch for a mini-shower in honor of the new baby. We went to Cafe Caturra and it was so much fun and the food was yummy! They invited my mom and sister which made it even more special. It's so nice to have such a great group of friends!

This coming up Saturday, some of my friends from JMU are coming into town for a girls weekend. We are going to get manis and pedis, go out to dinner, and catch up. I'm really looking forward seeing everyone!

On another note, we have had an interesting week with Madelyn. I think she has hit her terrible 2's and has decided to fight me on naps every day. Yesterday, she fought me for 2 hours and would not get in her crib. I used every tactic imaginable and finally gave up! She would have a temper tantrum and climb out of the crib. Actually, I had to catch her because she would throw herself out of the crib head first. Needless to say, I've ordered a bed rail for the convertible crib and we are converting it to a toddler bed as soon as possible. That's just what I need 4 weeks before the baby is due! I guess it's payback because I had a temper as a child:)

Waiting to leave for the bunco playgroup shower. I am 36 weeks pregnant in this picture!

Playing with Madelyn on our 3rd floor. You gotta love Saturday mornings!

The bunco Playgroup at Cafe Caturra. We are missing Kelly C. and three other girls couldn't make it. We missed you Suzanne, Amy and Adrienne.

My sister, mom and I at the lunch. We should have worn more vibrant colors, especially if we all three wore the same color!