Happy Father's Day!

Here are a few pictures of my boys on this Father's Day. Thanks for being such a hands-on, loving daddy and a helpful husband, Brent! I'm so thankful to have a parent-partner like you!

Welcome, Silas!

Introducing Silas Dean!
Born June 5, 2011, at 11:58 am.
7 lb. 11.6 oz., 20.5" long
Head of dark hair
Adorable little face
Jury still out on who he looks like

Here I sit in our living room, feeling a little nostalgic. I'm remembering similar moments 3 1/2 years ago when I set Mason's car seat down on the floor beside me and laid down on the couch, celebrating bringing our new son home, shedding tears of joy and hormones and wondering what life would now look like. Here I sit today. It's a new baby in the car seat--Silas Dean, who just arrived to join us two days ago. Now here I am, celebrating bringing our new son home, shedding tears of joy and hormones and wondering what life will now look like. Oh man, how I already love this little guy! So much. So, so much.

Mason loves him too. When I called to tell him of his arrival on Sunday around lunchtime, Mason's squeal was priceless. I'm told it was accompanied by a priceless one-legged dance. He excitedly came to the hospital multiple times wanting to hold "his baby" over and over again. He left the hospital broken hearted at least twice that he had to leave "his baby," which was hard on Mommy too. But I'm thrilled that Mason is so excited about his brother. The width of his smile and the twinkle in his eye are hard to match when he enters the room to see "his baby." I know this will mean that I will have to be a vigilant protector of "his baby" at times because 3-year-old love can be quite boisterous!

I'm looking at Silas' head of dark hair as he sleeps, noting how different he looks from Mason and how blessed I am to have my two special boys. I feel so grateful to God to have a healthy baby boy and a healthy big boy. It has been such a gift for us these last few days to experience this process again, to welcome this new life and to begin to establish a new family of four. I'm especially thankful to be on this side of labor and delivery! But I must say I find myself wondering how we got here already--where did the last 3 1/2 years go? the last 9 months? the last 3 days? Wow, as we start this new and exciting chapter of our family, I need to pay attention because it's so amazing and the moments so fleeting all at once.

Welcome, Silas Dean! We love you so much, and we're so glad you're home with us! The exciting adventure of the Gaulke family continues...