picking berries

We decided that during my maternity leave Elia would continue on her normal schedule. We did this to provide with as much normalcy as possible while she gets used to having our attention split between her and her new brother, and also to help me out while I recover from having the babes. This means that on Monday through Thursday, Elia is either at school or with her grandma and on Fridays, both kids are home with me.

I have to admit, I get nervous about Fridays every week so far. Wells' schedule is unpredictable, Elia is a very busy toddler, and a full night's sleep seems like, well, a dream. To make things easier, I've had a play date and special day with Aunt Emily lined up on our last two Fridays but today our plans didn't work out. Since we had the morning free, I decided that it would be fun to get out of the house and go strawberry picking. 

A quick Google search later, we were headed to Krupps Farms, just north of the city. We started our berry picking adventure at the farm's petting zoo. 

Elia was excited to see the animals but a little intimidated. When I asked her if she wanted to pet them, she responded by saying, "I too busy. I too busy, Mom." Busy being chicken.

Good thing that rocking horse was friendly.

We headed to the you-pick strawberry fields next. After a car trunk diaper change for Wells, we were ready to pick some berries.

We grabbed a small container and went to work.

After picking as many berries as we thought we needed, Elia played taste tester.

Mmm, delicious! Elia approved.

since we've been home

We came home from the hospital and Friday and since then, have been adjusting to life as a family of four. Elia has been doing a great job with her little brother and it's been fun to see her interact with him.

On Saturday, we decided to take our first family outing and attend the Local First Street Party in the afternoon. We enjoyed some food, people watching, and an art project and it went better than expected. The weather was perfect and after several days in the hospital, it was so nice to be out and about.

Yesterday we had a quiet day at home, just settling into our routine. Todd and Elia went to church while Wells and I stayed home and then Grandpa and Grandma N stopped by to visit for a few minutes after church. We all rested in the afternoon - having a being a newborn is exhausting!

Today was a big day for Mr. Wells. We had his newborn photo shoot in the morning and his first doctor's appointment this afternoon. I couldn't wait to see how much our little guy weighed. He's been eating like a champ and I was sure he'd be near his birth weight.

The Stats:

Weight - Birth: 7 lbs. 12 oz.     5 Days: 7 lbs. 11 oz.

Length - Birth: 19 inches    5 Days: 20.5 inches

Head Circumference - Birth: 14 inches     5 Days: 14.25 inches

Suspicion confirmed - this kid is an eating champ! Everything else looked good as well, always good to hear.

We took a nice after dinner walk to the park and, obviously, Elia had to bring the sled along to pull her doll in. Once we got close, Todd took over the pulling.

I'm looking forward to introducing Wells to some friends this week and of course, getting in lots of snuggles while he lets me.

Thank you for all of the well wishes, we're having a great time so far!

meet wells

Todd and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of our son, Wells Robert Neckers. Born on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 10:04 am, he came into the world weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.

More to share soon, we are so blessed by his arrival.

With love, the Neckers Family.