If this doesn't melt your heart...

...well then I don't know what will! Check out Colin's sleepy-time smiles:

Big sisters

They're really enjoying their job.

And here's just one of the boy!

Another birth in the family

Our Black Swallowtail caterpillar escaped his chrysalis this evening. We had noticed some rapid changes in the shape of the little green pod recently and Katie's mom noticed stirring in the jar so we quickly got him outside to stretch his wings.

Another successful birth this week. We're doing pretty well!

The grandparents are here...the grandparents are here!

We only had to make it through one night alone and then we'd have reinforcements. Not too difficult, right? Well... Oklahoma had one of its signature thunderstorms that night, complete with lightning and booming thunder. Colin was oblivious to the storm, but was up quite a bit because, well, he's a newborn. His two sisters, on the other hand, were terrified of the storm and needed some cuddling. Who knew you could fit two adults, two kiddos, and a baby in a queen-sized bed?

(The girls as they comforted each other back in their room; notice Claire's sleep mask!)

Anyway, my parents arrived on Tuesday (thank goodness!) and have been quite busy ever since. I don't think Colin has been set down since they arrived - and he's not complaining about that one bit.

Click for more pics of the readers and fun...

We just had a friend drop off a moving box full of books to be donated, giving us first picks -- what luck for the kiddos and the grandparents! They're steadily working their way through the pile to the kiddos' delight!

By popular demand...the pics!

We made it home...we left the hospital with the newest member of Team Shea around 26 hours after Colin was born. I guess with number three we've pretty much got the routine figured out.

He's a very tired kiddo. Lots of sleep, a few noises, very few (knock on wood) cries, so far.

Click here for big pics and a short movie

We have to get through one night at home with three kids, then we get some help as the grandparents are coming...the grandparents are coming!

It's a BOY!

Here's the quick and the dirty, more to follow later with pics...

Colin Daniel was born at 9:42 AM this morning. He weighed 8 lbs and 2 oz, and is 20" long!

Baby and Mom are doing great, big sisters are excited and proud, and the whole fam couldn't be happier.

Stay tuned once we're home and have some time...

Pregnancy Update: Due Date

Today is our "official" due date. Evidently our baby didn't get that memo because I'm still pregnant. A non-stress test at the OB's office this morning showed a healthy baby, so all is still well. Induction is set for Thursday of next week.

Our newest kitchen gadget

The girls love to help us cook. Problem is, our lovely children would always end up pushing each other around on the step stool or chair we'd set up for them and it wouldn't end well. Soooo, we finally caved in and bought them a special surprise - a Learning Tower! Claire and Maddie can both fit on it and help us cook, plus they have discovered that it can be used as a puppet theater, a stage, a drive-thru, a fort, a house, and a booster to see out the kitchen window. And now we have lots of help in the kitchen - woohoo!

Pregnancy Update: Week 39

Friday, July 10th marks week 39 of this pregnancy. One more week to go before our due date! Have we had the baby yet? Click here anytime to find out the answer!

[Edit: click here for what was posted back on the July 10th]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Part 2

Some of you may remember our Hungry Caterpillar that we raised last year. Well, this year we found yet another worm to bring into our house as a temporary pet. He and about 20 of his closest friends and family were on our parsley in the garden, happily chomping it all up to bits. I had the girls pick the BIGGEST caterpillar they could find on our parsley bush (don't want to try and keep him alive for too long!) and they fed him parsley bits for two days. I think he may be starting to build his cocoon now.

A quick search on Google told us that we've likely adopted a Black Swallowtail caterpillar. If all goes well, he should turn into a very beautiful butterfly indeed!

It's HOT!

I know, I know, we've complained about it before. But check out our thermometer at almost 7pm:

Outdoor temp is on top
Indoor temp is on the 2nd line
Time
Date

Yep. 111 degrees is HOT! Supposed to be hotter Friday, so we'll see what we get up to...

Independence Day train ride

We spent a portion of this Independence Day on a train ride. The folks at Farmrail put on a special Independence Day trip for local military members and their families from Altus and Ft Sill. The 45-minute train ride went from Quartz Mountain to Lone Wolf. Once there we were treated to some yummy watermelon and we watched the town's parade. It was a really, REALLY short parade, but they threw lots of candy so our girls were happy as can be.

With our candy in-hand we boarded the train and rode back to Quartz Mountain. On the way home it began to storm so we didn't watch any fireworks this year, but at least we were able to see a small-town parade and have some good ol' American fun.

Click the photo for more pics from the day!

Happy Independence Day!