{THIER FIRST PICTURES AS THREE}

I have one of the most precious memories nestled in a folder on my hard drive. The sweetest little image of my oldest baby boy meeting his baby brother in the hospital for the very first time. As soon as he enters the room his face lights up. As he gets closer and sees the face of his little brother, he lifts his hand in delight, waves and says hi. It melts my heart to this day. I somehow thought that history would repeat itself when the lady baby was born. I imagined the boys coming to visit together and seeing her for the first time. Huge smiles. Cheek kisses. A brother for each side. A small tear that would puddled down my right cheek, a sign of extreme joy. Yup yup. That would be the shot.

NOT!

It seemed rushed. They had been away from mommy and daddy for one two many days. They were tired. And hungry. And, quite possibly, unsure of how to respond to this tiny squishy little baby that was in momma's arms. The room was dark. My Kendall Bear seemed disinterested and maybe even a little hurt. I was already tired and certainly in no mood to hear sibling fighting or whining. All I wanted was for them to go. I felt like a HORRIBLE mom. Sometimes things don't turn out as fairy tale-ish as you hope. And yet, the moments are special, nonetheless.

When we returned home from the hospital with our baby girl in tow, it was quiet. The boys had not yet arrived and it gave us a little time to tidy things a bit and get ready to be introduced to our new family dynamic as a party of five.

When they got home it was like nothing really changed. The next few days where strange, weird and delightful all at the same time. And everything was leading up to the first morning when we would wake up, Brian would be off to work and things would be business as (un)usual. Our new life with a mommy and her three kids. So, naturally, pictures of THIER new life as three just made sense.

From Syreena, With Love