we are home safe and sound from the hospital and enjoying life as a family of 5. (!!!!!) what a blur the last few days feel like! our first night back home, samson developed a fever and cough as the night progressed (isn’t that how it always goes? you take every precaution in the book to make sure your toddlers are as healthy as they can possibly be in the middle of winter as you bring home a newborn and then BAAM, it still happens.) so now we’ve been working on trying to juggle a household of sickies while also trying not to get the baby sick as we readjust to life with our newest addition.

here are a few photos from our time at the hospital with our new little one,

conrad rex davis

wow! that is so fun to type out! we are completely smitten with our baby conrad. he was born sunday, december 14th at 4:10 in the morning, weighing 8 pounds even, 21 inches tall. third time around and there is still something so magical about holding and cuddling a new little life in your arms. it does not get old! it only gets better! these tiny babes, so fragile and dependent, always extra cuddly with the faintest smell of sweet milk on their breath… you cannot help but kiss their cheeks 5 million times between feedings and whip out that annoying baby voice you swore you’d never use as you talk to them about the most mundane things. heaven is some sort of version of this in my mind. i’m thankful for the chance to experience it here in a small way. i absolutely adore and cherish my title as a mother. it is nothing short of a privilege to hold this role with eleanor, samson, and now, little conrad.

^^^a smile! i think he likes his papa!^^^

^^^eleanor and samson showed up the minute visiting hours began sunday morning and brought mama flowers! even though josh and i had been up all night, visiting hours at 11AM could not come fast enough for either of us. we couldn’t wait for E and S to meet their new little brother! i won’t ever forget that image of the two of them walking into my hospital room so proud and wide eyed carrying these flowers. “we picked them out for you! because they are your favorite color!” eleanor said. and then they climbed up onto my hospital bed in their coats and shoes and gave me the biggest hugs. even in pain and going on 36 hours of no sleep, they made me feel like a million bucks. ^^^

^^^a special moment was when eleanor and samson were both sitting on my hospital bed and josh was about to pick up conrad from his bassinet to introduce him to E and S. he asked them if they thought the baby was a boy or a girl. eleanor said, “a girl!” and samson said “a boy!”. when josh said, “samson, you’re right! this is your new baby brother!” samson lifted his shoulders up and tucked his head down into his chest with his hand clasped together tightly and started laughing excitedly as his entire body shook! he literally was so excited he was shaking! it was kind of the sweetest thing ever. eleanor is excited the baby is a boy as well. she made the observation yesterday at the breakfast table, “mama, you and me, we are girls. but we sure do have a lot of boys in this family!” and last night she called out, “i love you conrad!” before going to sleep.^^^

^^^a hospital that gives you a buttercream congratulatory cake? i’m definitely down with that kind of hospital. ^^^

^^^prop up you feet, mister samson. have a piece of cake. stay a while. ;) ^^^

^^^all buckled in ready for his taxi ride home! and wearing that beloved hat eleanor and samson both once wore on both of their rides home from the hospital. it’s been four years since i was given that hat by a girlfriend and i still can’t get enough of it.^^^

now that we’re all home, we’re taking turns being fascinated with our baby conrad. i had to share this little clip from a video i took yesterday. when you witness your 2 1/2 year old scoot the space heater over to your baby’s crib and sit down on it, then voluntarily begin to read one of his favorite books to his new baby brother, you can’t help but think, “are you kidding me? this is the best life. i am living the very best life.”

welcome to our family, conrad! we all love you so much already!