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Merry Christmas to our family and friends! We hope that you are enjoying a lovely Christmas season with all the joy of being with family and remembering our Savior.  It has been a significant year at the Rees House. We started out the year with the news that we were expecting a baby in early October! Everyone survived my pregnant crazies (it was an effort for the entire house) and we waiting with excited anticipation for our new little one to arrive. Eleonore Anne was born on September 30th and we fondly call her Ellie. She is bright sunshine in our house and we are so excited that she joined our family. When I think about where Rowan was at the beginning of the year, it amazes me to think of his progress. He started the year in the middle of his final year at his preschool class for the hearing impaired. His teacher, Mrs. G, was doing her best to help him to make progress with his speech. His language has really blossomed this year (thanks to her work as well as Ro...

No postpartum fog was going to hold us back from enjoying the main event of October: Halloween! Of course we couldn't have a proper Halloween without a party with our friends. It was a simpler affair this year and our "zombie new parent" costumes were appropriate but we had a great time!  Davin and Rowan were excited to show Ellie how trick or treating is done. A proper costume is essential; Davin decided to be Kai, the red ninja from Ninjago and Rowan, after much deliberation, picked Indiana Jones.  Ellie's Aunt Tiffani sent a darling "Pea in a Pod" costume, making Ellie our favorite treat of the night.  Our neighborhood women's group hosts a Halloween block party for the neighborhood every year and it is a fun tradition to start the night. Chris took Ellie and the boys on a hay ride, and then they enjoyed pizza and playing with friends. After some diligent effort, the boys came home with fat sacks of candy...

Here is a little love note to our sweet Ellie. For a long time we thought that we were supposed to be a family of four but really we were just waiting for the right time to bring Ellie into our family and we are so glad that she is here. I tried my best to push past the postpartum fog so that I could soak in every lovely detail of her new little life. I figured that we would like our new little one but I had no idea that we would be so head-over-heels, crazy mad in love! Apparently it is contagious because I can't go anywhere without people stopping me to admire her. Maybe it is just part of living in the South and all that warm friendliness, or maybe it is the fact that she is adorable. Of course I'm picking the later but I do love the warm friendliness too. Some of my favorite details about newborn Ellie are this: She has the sweetest face with little rosebud lips, a nose the turns up ever so slightly, big, bright eyes, and a darling little cleft in her chin that looks ...

The hospital took such good care of me that I was able to go home a day early. As much as I love staying at a hospital, it was great to be home again with my boys. Ellie certainly made an impact into our lives but it was amazing how quickly she fit in as well. The question everyone keeps asking me is "how are the boys adjusting to their new sister?" The answer is "brilliantly!" One night, we were watching a movie together and there was a brief scene where a baby lost his mother. Rowan was so upset by this that he started sobbing! We couldn't figure it out at first but soon realized that Rowan was worried that Ellie would get lost too. Both boys love to hold Ellie and give her hugs. Davin is so gentle and sweet with her! Rowan is working on it; he adores Ellie and sometimes he loves her too much, but the intention is always good. The boys are both good helpers too. Most of the time they don't complain when I can't help them right away like I u...

As September drew to a close, so did my pregnancy. With a scheduled c-section, there was little anxiety about when the blessed event would take place. As the day drew near, I had many ask me if I was "ready." What does it mean to be ready and can one truly achieve that state? Was I ready to no longer be pregnant? In many ways, absolutely. There was a reason why I only gained 2 lbs during the entire pregnancy and I was ready to eat and enjoy food again. My feet and ankles were swollen and I had forgotten what they looked like (not that I could see my feet anyway), and I missed being able to bend over in a less awkward way. However, there is something lovely about feeling that little life move inside you and I would miss it. Were we ready to have a baby in our house? In many ways, not really. Of course we had the car seat, diapers, clothes, and crib but I don't think we were ready for the reality of having a baby in our very baby-free house and what that would mean to our l...