1st days

This post will be slightly less verbose and a lot more picture-heavy than yesterday's post as I give you a glimpse of Hadley's first days.

Day 1:

When I taught Yearbook classes a few years ago, the students were told to capture pictures with emotion to help tell the story. I think the facial expressions in next few photos of Hadley's first bath say lot more than any captions I could write.


The warmer, on the other hand, seemed to make everything better again.


My mom was there for the delivery but went home a few hours after our little girl's arrival. She came back later that day with my dad so Hadley could meet "Pop Pop." Grandma Nora Ann and Granddaddy Eddie stopped by for a while too.


I wasn't allowed to get out of the bed for most of the first day, so Daddy had diaper duty and got some extra bonding time with our baby girl. Although we didn't have a refresher course, he seemed to remember the little tips we learned in the parenting classes we took before Caleb was born and swaddled her up like a pro.


Quite a bit of talk that first day was focused on trying to figure out who Hadley looks like exactly. While most people thought Caleb looked like me at birth, Hadley seems to have a mix of different features. Personally, I mostly see her daddy but I think she looks like her Grandma McKinstry around the eyes and something reminds me a little of her Aunt Amy. Her mouth looks similar to Caleb's and maybe her coloring. I didn't think they favored one another at first but the more I look I think they do have a lot of similarities. The one thing I believe she definitely took from the Vaught side is her long skinny toes and fingers which are the complete opposite of Caleb's plump little hands and feet.


Day 2:

We spent most of the morning catching up on sleep and admiring Hadley.


Caleb had a slight cold when we left for the hospital Friday evening so we were a bit unsure whether or not he should visit his sister or not. We held off the first day but decided the cold had cleared up enough on the second that we felt he could come meet his new sibling. He also brought NaNa, Aunt Courtney, and Great Aunt Susie. He was happy to see Mommy and Daddy, but for the most part was pretty indifferent about meeting Hadley. Instead, he mostly wanted to check out the hospital and ended up walking around with Dave exploring while everyone else chatted.


Day 3:

On our final day at the hospital, we quickly took care of the last details and packed up so we could head home. I originally intended for Hadley to wear the dress I came home from the hospital in as her coming home outfit. However, the weather was on the chilly side and we agreed a short sleeve dress may not be the best option. Instead, we had her hospital pics taken in my dress and then changed her into a warmer sleeper her Great Great Aunt Margaret bought her. We weren't pleased with the hospital's photography so here are a few of our own pics:


After snapping a ton of photos, Dave made sure she was snug in her carseat and we made our way back to our house.


Shortly after getting home Dave went and picked up the toddler we'd been missing for the past few days from Granny's. A little later, Granny came out to visit and meet Hadley for the first time.


The rest of the week was spent trying to keep up with both little ones and figuring out how to operate as a family of four. We've been blessed beyond measure! :)