(drumroll)... Cole Ellis McAllister!!!

He arrived! Cole Ellis McAllister was born this morning (April 30) at 9:55 AM. He just barely turned 12 hours old. Here we are right after meeting our beautiful sweetheart. Everything went very smoothly with the labor and delivery-- we arrived at the hospital around 3 AM (our buddy Matt drove over to our house in the middle of the night to take care of Benson), and Cole arrived 7 hours later. John and I passed the time in the delivery room napping, watching our wedding video and the new Pride and Prejudice, and munching on ice chips.


And the results of the official weigh-in are: 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Our big boy is also a whopping 21-1/2 inches tall. We've got a future power forward on our hands!


Cole, meet your Daddy! Here's John right after cutting the umbilical cord. Cole's middle name comes from John's Grandpa Ellis, his dad's dad. He was a great Scottish man-- very valiant and wise, funny and fun, and for his profession he was a high school principal.


I feel so honored to be Cole's mom. Out of the 6,000,000,000 people on earth, he was sent to us-- what a privilege! By the way, the name Cole comes from my side of the family-- I'm actually related to Old King Cole! We want our son Cole to always remember that he is royalty, in more ways than one. (Descendent of an earthly king and son of a heavenly king.) My grandparents always drilled into us "noblesse oblige" and we want to teach that same principle to Cole.


Benson and Cole did a gift exchange when they first met. Benson had picked out a new teddy bear for Cole, and Cole arrived with a yellow bus for Benson. Here's Benson rocking out to the school bus song. So far, Benson seems to have taken his new role as big brother in stride, so we hope that keeps up.


The bigger, better McAllister Team! We are so thrilled Cole joined us. By the way, today was closing day for our house (even though we did early occupancy and moved in last week), and everyone involved with the closing (real estate agents, title company, etc.) actually drove over to the hospital for the meeting! I think that was a first for all of them. John said he felt like a real man today-- he just became the father of 2 and he just bought a house!

So April 30 turned out to be a big day for our family! We're exhausted, relieved, and very very happy.

New Kids on the Block

We bought a house and moved!!!! Here's John carrying me over the threshold of our new home. (Even though I'm 30 lbs. heavier these days, bless John's heart for not grunting when he picked me up!) Our house is really cute-- come on over and see for yourself!


Several miraculous events allowed us to move in this past Friday. TONS of people are closing on homes these days because of a government home-buying tax credit that is about to expire, and so the process of getting a home loan has been extremely SLOOOW. The banks are swamped. We were supposed to close on our new house and move in this past Friday April 23 (my due date was on April 25), but found out that it would take an additional week before all the documents could be processed and we could close. That means the earliest we could move in would be April 30. You know me, I responded very calmly and rationally to this terrible news, especially in my demure 40-week pregnant nesting state.

Just kidding, I didn't handle it very well. Our old house was all boxed up, I was having contractions, 100% effaced, 2 cm dilated, and NOTHING was ready for baby #2 to arrive. John and I felt completely helpless. We did the only thing we could think of (besides breaking into the new home and secretly moving)-- we begged the Lord for help! We really, really pleaded-- hard-- that he could somehow create a way for us move in on the 23rd, instead of having to push the move back another 7 days. And we also prayed very specifically that the baby would not come until we could move.

Well, on Wednesday afternoon, our real estate agent had a sudden burst of genius-- she remembered a rare provision that allows people to move into a home before they own it. It's like the home becomes a hotel-- you get the key, and you pay a certain amount of money every day to the owners. It's a big risk, it requires lots of signatures and negotiations from many different people, and it's recommended against and hardly ever done, but it was a possibility! We jumped on it. We felt like her sudden idea (and knowledge of how to make it happen) was a direct answer to our prayers. All the documents were prepared in a record time, faxes were quickly sent out all over the country, everyone agreed and got things signed and faxed back, and we were given permission to move in 1 week early! Thank heavens! Literally!

People came out of the woodwork to help us move. 25 angels showed up on our driveway at 5 PM on Friday, and they stayed with us for hours packing, loading, moving, unloading, and unpacking until the work was all done. Dozens of people called or emailed with offers to babysit Benson, to bring us meals, and to help us clean our old apartment. John and I are so grateful for the huge amount of help everyone provided-- it was a miracle. I wish I had taken pictures during the move-- the guys were like machines with how quickly they worked.

We are now officially READY for baby Waldo to arrive! He should come any day now-- if he doesn't come the old-fashioned way, I will be induced this upcoming Monday (May 3).


Another big miracle-- we managed to get our piano out of our old house! During the past 3 years, whenever people would visit us, without fail their first question was, "how in the world did you get that piano up here?!" It's a long story, but it involves 5 piano movers that almost died in our windy, narrow stairwell. Anyway, this time we decided to spare them, and we rented a scissor lift to get the piano out our attic balcony!


And for the final miracle-- shortly after moving into our new house, we had a FedEx man come to our door struggling with a massive box. We thought he had the wrong address, but our names were on the box, so we opened it. It was a beautiful new double stroller! John and I had decided we couldn't afford a double stroller right now (they are so expensive), and so we were shocked and elated to get this surprise package. There was no note, no explanation, and no name of who sent it. So whoever the stroller fairy is, fess up and THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Man of the Hour

Yesterday, we celebrated another McAllister birthday. This time, the birthday boy was... can you guess from the above picture?... John!!! He turned a whopping 28 years old. It was such a terrific day-- at the end, John said it was his best birthday ever. (He says that every year, but it made me feel good as the chief birthday coordinator.)


The big present John got this year was a brand-new shiny red lawn mower! Giving your husband a mower is probably the equivalent of giving your wife a blender, but luckily John wasn't disappointed or slighted. In fact (and you can tell from his facial expression), he was bursting with pride and manliness to have his own machine. He can't wait to take it for a test drive on the lawn of our new house this weekend!!


For dinner we splurged and ate out at John's favorite restaurant, Maxie's Southern Comfort. Benson couldn't get enough of the fried green tomatoes, John snarfed down his jambalaya, and I ordered the most delicious beef brisket I've ever tasted. Mmm boy!

I am so glad John was born 28 years ago. I'll always be grateful for Mom and Dad McAllister and all they did to raise John. And I am so happy to share my life with John, and that I get to see him and be with him every day, FOREVER! Happy Birthday John!

Happy Birthday Benson!

Our baby grew up! We still can't believe that Benson turned 2 today. He kicks off the McAllister boys birthday week-- Benson's birthday is 4/18, John's birthday is 4/21, and Waldo's birthday is any day now. (We like to keep things simple and group all of our important days together!) Here Benson is exploring his fancy new tunnel/tent system.


This truck book present from Zoe-Zoe was a big hit. I honestly believe Benson is in the 99th percentile for the human race in terms of his truck knowledge.


We told Benson a few days ago that on his birthday, we would eat all of his favorite foods for breakfast, to which he replied (while jabbing his finger in the air), "SAUSAGE!!!" He's a true German.


We took a family trip to a playground to celebrate Benson's birthday. I know that sounds like we're cheap (I mean, we didn't even spend the money to go to Chuck E. Cheese!), but frankly Benson was THRILLED. He lately has been asking to go to a park every morning when he wakes up.


Few things in a toddler's life can beat the pure joy of a slide!


John and Benson cashed in their birthday coupons for some free ice cream cones from Baskin Robbins.


Really, how often do you get such a realistic dump truck made out of frosting? We all know what John's going to do if the whole doctor thing doesn't work out!


Now that Benson is 2, John decided it's high time to teach Benson the rules of manhood! Watch out ladies!

My Latest Talents (written by Benson)

Dissolving little pills to make animal-shaped sponges (I'll admit, I found this completely mesmerizing)...



Building my own butterfly house at the Home Depot Kids Workshop...


Washing the car with Dad...


...and decorating my parents' laptop. (Next time you see me, please ask me to recite our new family rule.)

Good News and Bad News

The good news first: WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! I know, we can't believe it either. John and I keep pinching ourselves.

It's a cute brick Cape Cod style home. 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms.


Here's a sneak preview of our new kitchen. Sunny and spacious.


And here's our cheery front room.

There are about 85 more pictures we could post, but we'll leave it at these 3 for now. (That way, you have to visit us to see the rest of the house!) We're really excited though-- it is located in a fun neighborhood, there are 3 parks right by our home, several public and private schools nearby, and 19 children aged 5 and under on our block. All the homes in the area are starter homes so there are a lot of young couples our age living there, and the homes are all cute, unique, and in nice condition. The backyards are all connected, and evidently the kids run from yard to yard everyday to play. We think it will be perfect for us.

Here's the only bad news: Last night we found out our closing date (the date we can move in), and... it's April 23. I'm due with Waldo on either April 25 (according to my doctor) or April 30 (according to Mother Nature). Either way, we'll be cutting it REALLY CLOSE. Moving is tiring and stressful to begin with, but the thought of a big move just 2 days before I'm due with our baby makes me very anxious! I tossed and turned all last night envisioning the worst-case scenarios. We were hoping to move in during the 1st or 2nd week of April (when I'd only be 37 weeks pregnant, instead of 39 weeks pregnant), but the type of mortgage loan we're getting stipulates that we can only move in 2 months before John's start date for his residency. (He'll start on June 23rd, hence the April 23rd closing date.) We tried to get an exception to move in earlier, but it was declined.

Oh well-- usually John and I aren't gamblers, but we are going ahead with this plan. Benson was born exactly on his due date, and all the girls in my family are either on time or late with their babies-- no one has ever delivered early. Even if John and I only have a few days in the house before the baby comes, we can still get a lot accomplished in those few days. And we'd rather move before the baby comes instead of after.

And if Waldo decides to surprise us and come early, then... we'll be thrilled to meet him! Plus, my personal motto is "anything for a good story," and that will be one crazy story.