Announcing...

{One week late...oops}

The birth of our fourth child...Mark Christopher. 

Hello world!

Our smallest baby weighing in at 7.1 lbs. 

Mark was my brothers name and means "mighty warrior". Christopher is obviously after Chris and means "bearer of Christ". Our prayer for our little Mark is that he will grow to be a mighty warrior for the Lord! If he is anything like his uncle or his Daddy, I will count it a blessing.

And baby makes six!

Smitten with her newest baby brother

Our first picture in the recovery room about 35 minutes after he was born. We were so thankful to an answer to prayer that he didn't need to go to the NICU--our first boy not to!

My last pregnant picture ever. Weird. Total weight gained: 23 lbs. Odd, since I tore through bags of cheetos, powdered donuts and gallons of icecream and ate veggies only as an example to my kids. Ha! 

Baking a BIRTHday cake the day before Mark was born! Yum, raw egg...

 

Not so smitten...in fact wanted nothing to do with him until I produced the Elmo book from Mark to Jack. :) 

Loving on baby

Have this picture, in this same sweatshirt, with all the babies. :) I keep the  room cold. Chris lucked out with our room this time. He had an extra alcove area that wasn't up against the window such that when they brought the baby at night/took my vitals he was often able to sleep through it as the light over him didn't turn on.  

 

Eating cake {cake is his happy place}

With my sweet friend and OB, Stacy.

Ready to go home daygown...not a dress. :)

After much waiting, finally heading home!

A big thank you to my parents who kept the kids while we were in the hospital! My big kids had such a good time and enjoyed their Nana and Poppy time so much. In fact, when I told Anna-Kate that she couldn't hold the baby until she washed her hands, (Chris, Anna-Kate and I all got horrible colds/sore throats during Mark's first week of life) she said, "but if Mark get sick, doesn't that mean Nana will have to come back to our house for more time here?" :) Sweet, but no dice!

Somehow not pictured are Ryan and my parents...there are pictures of them all holding the baby, just not on my phone. Those will come. :) They were there too.