...And Everything Nice.

Just back from the OC where we welcomed new baby Caleigh Rose and had some big fun with her big sisters. Sugar and spice abounded!

Warning to anyone thinking about stopping by to see me: I am armed and dangerous with 300+ photos of Caleigh & Co. and I am not afraid to use them!

Grandpa greets new mom Tina and baby Caleigh at the hospital

Caleigh turned one week old yesterday. We drove down last Sunday and visited her and Tina in the hospital, then played with Evie and Viv while John went to bring Tina and Caleigh home. Thanks to Ashleigh’s hard work, we arrived bearing the gift of a few nights worth of dinners.

Thank you Ashleigh!

Tina and two-day-old Caleigh

Happy Nana!

The girls played dress-up while they waited for Mom and Caleigh to come home

Princess Viv in her new dress-up outfit

New baby comes home!

And baby makes five!

We did our best to keep the older girls busy so that Tina and John could spend time with Caleigh. Evie and Viv came to visit us at our hotel and we had some fun outings; Build-a-Bear and the nail salon were lots of fun! We would bring the older girls home in time for dinner and some Caleigh viewing. We thought we would go out for grown-up time in the evenings but we had forgotten what it’s like to take care of little ones: there were a couple of nights that we were asleep by 9 pm!

Tina and John weren’t so lucky. Caleigh slept like a baby all day long and then announced her presence well into the wee hours for the first few nights. By the time we left, however, she was settling into a nice routine and we hear that she slept really well last night. Keep it up, Caleigh!

Evie and Viv arrive at our hotel to play with Grandpa and Nana

Evie and Viv requested room service for lunch, and of course Grandpa said yes

Viv thought it was too long a walk over to the mall

But she was much happier at Build-a-Bear

They had a lot of fun playing with their new stuffed friends

Big decision: picking out a color at the nail salon

Aren’t we fancy?

The older girls were SO GOOD with their baby sister. It was really a joy to watch them help out with her. Tina and John are as relaxed as new and sleep-deprived parents can possibly be. It was very special for us to be a part of this exciting week with them.

Viv and Caleigh

Evie holds Caleigh like a pro!

John and Caleigh Rose

One of our outings was to take the girls to their dance classes which was a lot of fun for us:

Viv at her tap dance class: sometimes it really does seem like there are two of her!

Her completely unbiased Grandpa proclaimed Evie the most accomplished ballerina in her class

Tina decided that giving Caleigh a bath was a good way to make sure she had some awake time during the day. There were lots of helpers at bath time!

First we get her undressed

Then we set things up for the sponge bath

Oh yes, she’s awake now!

Viv helps Mommy comb Caleigh’s hair

All clean and pretty!

She really does look like a little rose bud!

We are back home now and it seems so quiet here! We already miss Caleigh and her family but we look forward to seeing them all again soon. Thanks so much to all of them for such a precious and memorable visit!

Grandpa with the big sisters

Grandpa and Caleigh Rose

Best of luck and all our love to you all!

Saying our goodbyes