Days of Logan

Jill's Journal: Goodness gracious, I believe it’s been a whole week since I’ve had a picture of our new niece/cousin on here and I just can’t resist adding one (or two or three) more. Baby Logan is such a content and sweet little one and Kristi and Adam are so adept at this parenting gig that you’d never believe they’re only 11 days in. As for us, we’ve been so blessed to see this little lady every single day of her young life so far…oh my, it’s going to be hard to leave next week!

Logan Admiration Society

Jill's Journal: While I promise this little spot in cyberspace won’t be solely spent in basking in the Logan glow forever, that little sweetie is the focus of our days right now. Here’s the two grandmothers meeting their new granddaughter for the very first time, about three hours or so after she was born. What a special moment.

And the next day, our girls finally got to meet their one and only cousin.

Madelyn, who has always had a soft spot for babies, is head over heels in love.

It’s safe to say they’re all pretty smitten.

Even Erika, with all her talk about wanting to be an only child, would very much like her little cousin to just move right in with us.

Beppy, Kristi, and Logan…three generations of special ladies.

Grandpa has had so much fun with his older three granddaughters that he was kind of hoping for another one. He got his wish! Four granddaughters for Grandpa and Beppy…that always makes me think of my Grandma (the girls’ Great Grandma June and my Dad’s mother), who had four sons and would have been over the moon at the prospect of her son having four granddaughters. I can just see the smile on her face if she were still with us today.

What a cutie! Yeah, we’re definitely all smitten. And Rob and I are so proud to finally be an uncle and an aunt! :)

Introducing…

Jill's Journal: It is my privilege to introduce the precious and perfect Logan Grace, newborn daughter of Kristi and Adam. This beautiful little baby made her grand entrance into the world on Sunday morning after putting her mama, my incredible sister, through a long and arduous labor. True to family form, Kristi did it all without any pain medication and was a complete rock star (us Dutch girls are tough!).

In one of the three greatest honors of my life (the others are being married to my wonderful husband and being entrusted by God to take care of three amazing little girls), Kristi and Adam allowed me to be present at Logan’s birth from start to finish. It was miraculous and phenomenal and magical…and I’m not ashamed to say tears streamed down my face as I was witness to her first breaths and saw Kristi and Adam become parents. I will madly love that little girl –and her parents– until the day I die.

Welcome to the world, precious Logan Grace. You are so loved.

The Stork

Jill's Journal: No, Kristi and Adam’s little one hasn’t arrived yet…but while we’re patiently waiting, it’s high time to share that the stork will be paying us a visit as well. Yes, that’s right; we’re very, very happily expecting! We’re halfway through the pregnancy and so pleased and relieved to report all is well. RV for 5 will just have to become RV for 6. :)

(And because Rob and I never seem to undertake just one major life-changing thing at a time, I’ll share some more big news tomorrow.)

Humorously, two of our three girls are absolutely thrilled about a new addition while the other has mixed feelings. One might think it would be our youngest who wouldn’t want her position as the baby usurped, but no, it is Erika, our oldest, who is equally excited and trepidatious about adding another member to the family. Why? Well, as much as she loves her sisters, she still dreams of being an only child and having Rob and me all to herself!

Palm Springs to Paso Robles

Jill's Journal: Goodbye, Southern California. Our last days in Palm Springs were spent admiring those massive wind turbines…

…and swimming in some pretty wonderful pools at our campground. They’re filled daily with hot, fresh water from natural underground springs.

Driving through L.A. with a trailer is never fun. Does there really have to be so much debris on the road? No sooner did Rob say, “There’s so much crap I’m worried we’ll get a flat,” and we had a flat tire.

But, many long hours later, we finally made it to the Central Coast of California. That’s almost a deceptive name since the ocean is 30ish minutes away, but we’re here for the third and last time during our “tour” of the Golden State. We’re currently staying in lovely Paso Robles, which is cooler than Palm Springs, but still sunny and very warm. It’s beautiful wine country to boot.

We’re here to meet our new niece or nephew and the girls’ very first cousin, who will make an appearance any day now. We feel honored and so lucky to be here during this incredibly special time in the lives of my sister and brother-in-law. C’mon baby!

Grateful…

Jill's Journal: Grateful for so many things, including the chance to spend the first Thanksgiving in 20 years with my family. How sweet it is.

Grateful to have more food than anyone could possibly eat, along with the girls’ Grandpa who slaved away to pay for it all and the girls’ Beppy who slaved away to prepare it all.

Grateful for three healthy and happy little girls, including one who was so excited about Thanksgiving she made name placards for everyone. No, they weren’t really meant to be attached to foreheads.

Apparently Uncle Adam’s name is too long! Or maybe he was at the end of Erika’s name card project and she decided to cut it short. Either way, he got abbreviated.

But that’s clearly no reflection of these girls’ adoration for him. They practically sat in his lap during Thanksgiving dinner. By the way, he surprised us all by rocking the facial hair for the first time ever (remnants of a recent elk hunting trip in Colorado). My handsome baby brother suddenly looks like a grown-up.

Back to being grateful…there’s nothing to be more grateful for than a new baby joining the family next spring. This will be the girls’ (long anticipated) first-ever cousin and Rob’s and my first-ever niece or nephew...oh my goodness, WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!