Eliot James Shear

Our precious baby boy was born April 11th, at 11:16am. He weighs 6 lbs, 11 oz and is 18.25 inches long. He has blonde hair and right now, deep blue eyes. This is the best face shot that we have so far, although I didn't realize at the time that he was pooping.

Here's just a few shots of life the last 36 hours, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to give the full report.

38 Weeks

As I was lying in bed, wide awake at 4am this morning, I realized really how different me and my sister truly are and it made me a little sympathetic to this #2 coming soon. How come it always seems the older child gets life easier? Beth has 2 beautiful daughters and when she went into labor, she just thought, "Oh, I think I'm in labor" and leisurely took a shower and ate some food and then ventured to the hospital to naturally deliver a baby half an hour later. Me...I know I'm dilated to 3 centimeters (which most women get to when they're in real labor in the hospital and know the baby is coming within the next few hours) and think I'm in labor for a MONTH and still there is a what feels like 20 pound baby inside of me. So not fair!

COME OUT!

I think Alison's tired of hearing me say, "When baby brother comes out, then...". Yesterday she started yelling at my belly, "Baby brother come out!". She also became fascinated with blowing him raspberries. No wonder he doesn't want to come out-his big sister might seem a little overwhelming.

Easter

I absolutely love Easter and this year was one of the best. Elizabeth and Kent flew down for the weekend and Tim, Abby, Alexandria, Roger and Betty Lou came for Sunday.

Alison and I wore our matching dresses (she kept calling them our Easter costumes) and I was so thankful to have something cool to wear-it got really warm and I don't have any maternity shorts. It makes me laugh how my belly rests on Alison's head when she stands in front of me.


Ben led an awesome worship service and I was so thankful to be able to worship with our friends and family. After church, Ben "hid" eggs out in the yard for Alison and we gave her an Easter basket. I admit, I went a little overboard. I started accumulating things early just in case baby brother came in an untimely manor. Well, he stayed put and her basket was a little out of control. We did get a classic quote out of it though. Last year we gave Alison a peep and got a pretty funny facial reaction out of her. After her requesting "pee pee's" this year, we decided to make it a tradition. This year she put the peep in her mouth and Ben asked her what it tasted like. Alison's response: chicken.We had a fabulous dinner, complete with a smoked chicken and a Smithfield ham. We spent the afternoon relaxing and talking and then enjoyed some lemonade pie. It was a perfect day in my books.

Alison sporting her new flower hat


Yesterday we went for a walk with Elizabeth and Kent and enjoyed some more absolutely beautiful weather. It's kind of odd for me to think that this might be our last picture as a family of 3.
I was spoiled this weekend by all the help around. Ben cooked all the meals (which were amazing!) and whatever sides he needed help with, someone would jump in and make. Elizabeth and Betty Lou did massive amounts of dishes, there was always someone playing with Alison and Abby even helped me fold laundry. It was so nice to have people around. If I dropped something, someone would offer to pick it up. If Alison needed help or a lift, someone would jump in and take care of it. I haven't rested so much in my entire pregnancy! At the time it was hard for me-I didn't feel like myself and like the worst host in the entire world. But as I look back, I know it's exactly what I needed. I'm in a world of hurt today as everyone is gone and Ben is back at work.

There's nothing better than friends

It's been so refreshing having good friends here and I'm really looking forward to Tim, Abby and Alexandria living closer (they're here house hunting in Elizabeth City-about 1.5 hours away). We've already set plans to meet at the beach as much as possible this summer.

Roger and Betty Lou (Abby's parents) came down to help them house hunt and watch Alexandria. We all went to lunch yesterday at our favorite place in Smithfield-the Bakery.
Alison got a very special package from Poppy and Mimi yesterday full of Easter treats. I let her have some of the candy and she spent the rest of the afternoon running around crazy with her new bunny in one hand. I think I'm in for it tomorrow.

I guess it was a day full of treats because Daddy came home with some new hand-me-down toys from some friends at church. They spent the rest of the evening outside learning to ride the new bike and shooting hoops.

A good day for a walk

Abby and Alexandria are visiting this week and we're having a blast! Yesterday we took the girls to Ringo's for donuts and then we went for a walk on a new path through Smithfield. We're heading to the bakery this afternoon, but most of all, it's just been fun hanging out together (or as Alison would say, hanging "up" together).