Emilia gets lots of visitors

Our house has been bustling with visitors ever since our baby girl arrived. That is very typical of African families, a new baby means a great cause for celebration. Let me tell you there has been lots of celebration around these parts. We've loved having visitors and though it got overwhelming at times with getting some sort of routine with the kids and all, it's been so great to introduce baby girl to our family and friends

Family members traveled from overseas to come hang out with us this Summer and we are so grateful for this awesome family support. The sweetest has definitely been hubby's grandma who came all the way from England to spend a few months with us. The last time she was here was for our wedding 7 years ago and now she is here hanging out with all 4 of our kids. Is that amazing or what?

Emilia's firs 4 generations picture with hubby's dad and grandma, I love this so much

Hubby's mom and grandma hanging out with our baby girl

My cousin Sophia is here from London and she has been giving Emilia lots of cuddles

My aunt J is also here from Paris and spending lots of time with our sweet girl

My mom's friend came over to visit and all the kids cooperated for a group picture, yep those kids are all mine

My cousin Irene and Emilia chilling and relaxing, I used to change her diapers when she was little and now she is changing my baby's diapers. Circle of life I tell you

My friend HJ visited from California, the last time we hung out she was 19 weeks and I was 13 weeks and now we are holding our babies

Look at those future besties

And of course we got a group picture of everyone who came to visit

Me and my cousins hanging out with Emilia, just us girls

Irene wanted to carry Emilia in the baby bjorn but my baby was not impressed :)

My uncle E came to see the baby, don't mind Emilia's face she actually enjoyed the visit :)

My cousin A is here from London and he came with his wife and kid, check out the second cousins meeting for the first time

My cousin A holding our baby girl

Our family friend T also came to visit, we grew up in Cameroon and have know each other for more than 25 years

Our baby girl is one lucky lady because everyone wants to come visit her and shower her with love and kisses. We love visitors and how excited everyone has at the arrival of our Emilia. We are thankful for family and friends and our beautiful baby girl who is growing strong and healthy everyday.

Baby girl's first smile

Our baby girl is growing like a weed and I couldn't be happier. She is more awake everyday and starting to show a lot of her personality. She started smiling a few weeks ago but she has really been smiling on demand last week. I was finally able to catch it on camera thanks to my second boy Jbird who was entertaining her :). Her smile just lights up the room and I know she will be a happy little kid just like her brothers.

I present to you our little princess smiling away, I love her so much

Jbird is always giving her kisses and this totally melts my heart. She sure is one loved girl

Every time Jbird touched her toes she would just giggle and smile so he kept doing it. I can't get enough of this girl and her smile

This girl is so beautiful and I just love her eyes and her smiles. I kiss this sweet face daily and I am so happy that she is mine

Baby girl has not been getting as much attention as her brothers because I just don't have enough hands but every time we get some alone time I sure try to enjoy it to the fullest. This past weekend we went to a birthday party and I got baby girl all dressed up in a tutu complete with a bow.

Me and my baby girl rocking our pink, she is getting so chubby everyday and I absolutely love it

Here is a look at her outfit, she was so cute in it I couldn't help but take a bathroom selfie :)

Speaking of bathroom selfie, I was giving her a bath the other day and I was loving all the rolls that are showing up already. We clearly get lots of alone time in the bathroom

I love this picture of me and my girl hanging out. I always put on bows when there is a party, loving all the pink bow and tiny dresses :)

During the week, it's always me and my babies chilling and I must say that I enjoy every minute of it. I have another 2 and half month left at home and I plan to make the most of this time off with my babies

Chilling with my mini-me, I have a daughter you guys. I don't think it will ever sink in ever, ok, maybe when she turns 18

This is totally the look hubby's give me every time I want to take a picture :). Love this pic of hubby and his daughter

My cousins are in town visiting which makes for a busy time for us right now. Baby girl is growing more everyday and smiling on demand. We started doing tummy time but she is not a fan. I absolutely love her beautiful smile and try to make her smile everyday. I am currently loving all the milestones that baby girl is reaching and I look forward to capturing all of them on camera. Keep on growing baby girl, we love watching you grow. Can't wait for you to run after your brothers.

Jbird is 4 years old

Happy birthday to my second son Jbird who turned 4 on August 15th. Time is seriously playing tricks on me because I blink and another year goes by just like that. Jbird has been the baby that healed our broken hearts from the moment he was conceived. He is a warm and loving kid whose presence just makes you happy. He also has the craziest of meltdowns sometimes but we are communicating now which makes a world of difference.

Just like with Jbird's birthday, we decided that a big party would be too much with an infant and just kept the celebration low key with only family. Luckily for us Jbird doesn't understand dates yet so we were able to celebrate the day before his birthday without him knowing. I had to bribe Tman not to say anything and the whole time he called it Jbird's birthday celebrations :). That Tman I tell you, he is way too smart for his own good.

My beautiful second son who can make you smile the happiest of smiles and the next minute drive you completely crazy

I managed to get a family picture before the party started, check out our half dozen :)

We got the boys bubble guns before the party. I always try to get everyone a small gift that way the birthday boy can enjoy his gifts without the other kids bugging him. Bubble guns are Jbird's favorite so they were a hit

We took the boys outside so that they could enjoy their new gifts but it was just way too hot so we didn't last very long

My cousin Irene hanging out with the boys

We came back inside and let the kids play with their bubbles. My niece was there too. Thank goodness those bubbles are not so messy

They had a ball the entire day with those bubbles I tell you

Tman was super excited to see his aunt Kee and I am so glad I caught this shot

We started by opening a few presents because Jbird was super excited

The joy on my baby's face and can check out all those beautiful curls on my boys

Bean wanted every gift, good thing Jbird didn't mind sharing

Big girl Emilia was looking cute at the party

And everyone wanted a piece of her

That's my girl, I love her so much

My family chilling in the kitchen

After we ate it was time to cut the cake, Jbird loves everything Paw Patrol these days so it was only fitting that we got him a Paw Patrol cake. He loved it

Hubby getting the cake ready for the birthday boy

Love this picture of everyone getting ready for the cake

YAY cake. Can you believe that the camera died right after this so we didn't get a shot of Jbird blowing his candles? I am totally slacking I tell you

Speaking of slacking, the struggle is real when trying to take a picture with all 4 kids. Tman was cooperating, Jbird ran away, Bean wanted me to pick him up and Emilia was just sleeping. I am working on getting the hang of this :). Love these kids of mine

I did manage to get a picture of all the kids with hubby and his dad. They are all in the frame and for now that's all that matters :)

We had a great low key celebration for Jbird's 4th birthday. Next year we'll definitely celebrate in style with our family and friends. We will probably go back to doing a fun joint party for Tman and Jbird. We now have a 6 year old a 4 year old, a 2.5 year old and a 6 weeks old, crazy talk. Happy birthday to my Jbird, the boy who healed our hearts when we needed it the most. We love you to the moon and back.

Emilia is 1 month

Our baby girl is 1 month old, wowza. It was the fastest month of our lives I tell you. Life has been a beautiful blur since baby Emilia joined our family. She is such an nice baby and I am so loving this newborn phase. It has been hard to chill and spend quality time with her since we have to tend to 3 rambunctious kids but we definitely made the most of our first month. I am savoring every minute of this phase and I am so in love with this sweet girl of mine. I am not the only one, the boys are loving on her daily.

I took a few pictures of her to celebrate her 1 month and she was totally cooperating. She is not quite hamming it up for the camera yet but I just love taking pictures of her. I mean look at that sweet face :)

Our baby is such a great nurser just like her brothers before her and she is growing on target. She was a delicious 9lbs 7oz and 22in at her one month appointment almost 3lbs heavier than she was at birth. Loving that she is growing so well.

Her head also grew and now some of her bows are finally fitting on her head. Seriously mommy, am I going to wear big pink bows for the rest of my life :). No not the rest of your life baby girl just until it really sinks in mommy's head that you are hers to keep. I know, I am crazy :)

Can you get over her cheeks? I think not. What about those beautiful brown eyes, I know I can't. It's a good think she is adorable because this girl doesn't understand what sleep means. We have not had more than 2.5 hours of sleep at one time since she was born. I am a total zombie these days, a really happy zombie :)

I love this sweet baby girl so much and I am so happy that she is growing on target. We start tummy time this week and I know she will not be happy about that but we'll encourage her. Gotta strengthen those neck muscles

I set her free from mittens a few days ago and she is now discovering her fingers. I love these sweet and tiny baby fingers.

We went on our first outing that was not a trip to the doctor a few days ago. Baby girl did really well, she slept most of the time. I love carrying my baby really close, such a great feeling and the babe clearly loves it too

I now have both babies with me all day and we are doing really well. Bean is such an easy kid which makes taking both of them out a total breeze. I carried Emilia in the baby bjorn and put Bean in the stroller. It was so weird not having a double stroller for outings :)

Bean is so adorable I couldn't help snapping multiple pictures of him while we were out

Bean is totally loving his job as big brother. He was the slowest to warm up to baby Emilia but now he is totally smitten with her. Every time she cries he tells me to pick her up so this time I told him to hold her. He was so proud. Don't mind Emilia's crying face, she is a total cry baby.

I take every chance I get to spend some quality time with my baby. That usually means that I lay her close to me when Bean is taking a nap and just enjoy watching her sleep. Ahhhh, those sweet lips. I am one tired but happy mama, pure happiness right here

It's been such an amazing first month with my 1st and only daughter. I am so in love with the baby phase, the cuddles, the kisses, the food comas, the milk smell, the cheeks. I love it all and I am trying to soak every minute of it. I thank God everyday for this new blessing that joined our family a month ago and changed our family forever for the better. Happy 1 month, we love you sweet Emilia, to the moon and back.