Jade Evelyn Meeuwsen, born 9/23/11 at 11:53 a.m., weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz., measuring 18.25 inches and is absolutely perfect!
Her big brothers were excited to come see her. The first night with all the visitors I don't think it all quite clicked with them but the second night they came they were really into her. Carter was full of questions and Trey loves to give her kisses. They were so sweet to her.
Yes, she looks a lot like big brother Carter as a newborn. Those Meeuwsen genes are strong!
Napping with dad. I have a pic just like this with Brian with each of the kids. So in love with his little girl.
Jade is named after my Grandma Boers (my mom's mom). Her first name was Evelyn and although she passed away when I was 9 I have a lot of special memories of her growing up. This was also the name we would have used if Trey were a girl.
Family of five picture! Since Jade thought she would come 3 weeks early I had just ordered the big brother, little sister shirts, so unfortunately they will be in next week so we'll save them for the next photo! The outfit above was made by my BFF Jen for when Trey was born (which he obviously would have worn if he was a girl).
Checking out their new little sister and figuring it all out. :)
Birth Story (for those interested and for my own account!):
Around 9:00 pm Thursday night I kept having to go the bathroom and Brian and I were joking that maybe I was in labor and that we both weren't ready yet. Brian headed to bed early and I stayed up watching TV as I started to have some pains around 10 pm but of course thought it was all in my head. I fell asleep on the couch from about 10 to 11 and then woke up to pretty regular contractions and I was pretty sure my water had indeed broke. For the next few hours I tried to sleep but no such luck as the contractions were pretty steady. About 2:30 am I woke up Brian and told him this baby was coming and we needed to start packing. I wasn't due until October 15 so I had nothing packed so it was kind of hectic this time! After getting packed and showered I called the Dr. and of course he was surprised to hear from me b/c when I was in on Tuesday and he checked me absolutely nothing was happening, I was still measuring small, etc., so we figured she would come close to my due date. He told me since my water broke I could head in when I felt ready. So I called my mom, she came around 4:30 am, and we were off. We stopped at ZFS for Brian to tie up some loose ends and were at the hospital at 5:00 am. The nurse said I was at 3 cms, about 75% thinned and confirmed my water broke so they were keeping me. :) Dr. Geerlings came in around 8:30 and checked me and I was at about 4 cms so he said to start me on pitocin. There were 2 other girls delivering so it took a bit to get all the IVs and everything going but once the pitocin started contractions got pretty intense so then the epidural came. Dr. G. called to see how I was doing and the nurse said I was at around 6 cm dialated. Within 5 minutes I had the urge to push, she checked me again and I was fully dialated and ready to deliver! So a quick call to the Dr. and he was here within 10 minutes and Jade was born after 3 contractions! It all went really quick but I was so relieved she was here and healthy! God once again blessed us beyond what we could imagine. True to a girls nature she loves to be held and so far is doing great. I am so in love once again with that newborn smell and softness of her skin and could hold her all day! It was fun to call our family and friends as they were all quite shocked to hear that she was here already! Praying for a smooth transition as we begin our new adventure as a family of five!
Our nieces are home from Nebraska for a few weeks so the boys have been SPOILED with them coming over to play and entertain them. My mother-in-law came and painted our trim and doors so the girls came for a few days which really helped me get some things done. Thursday night we headed downtown Zeeland with them to watch them do the tractor peddle pull and enjoy some other activities. Here they are painting some pumpkins. Carter was concentrating too hard for a picture. :)
Saturday we headed to the pumpkin parade with my mom and in-laws and our nieces. Jade slept the whole time (of course!) and the kids had a riot getting LOTS of candy.
Since it's now harvest season Brian is working like crazy so last night we went to my grandma's house to visit to kill some time. The boys had fun playing in the leaves outside and enjoying some ice cream with grandma. She doesn't always remember the kids but she never fails to show her love to them! After Great Grandma's we stopped by Auntie Pam's to see her new puppy...we will definitely have to go there more to play with her. 
And an update on our sweet little miss Jade. We can't imagine our life without her! She has finally made it back to her birth weight of 6 lbs. 12 oz. so she is still a little peanut but she has grown 2 inches so she seems bigger! She still curls up in a ball which I LOVE! She is a very content baby and I think another Babywise baby. I can put her down awake and she will fall asleep and usually wakes up like an alarm clock when it's time to eat. Her nights have been more random but she goes at least 3 hours and sometimes 5. At times she doesn't stay awake enough to fill her belly so I find myself up 10 minutes later. It's easy to get frustrated but have to remind myself she is our last and I have to soak up the newborn stage! Her and I usually squeeze in a nap together in the afternoon so that helps give me energy for the rest of the day. :)
The guys from our side of the family that attended--cousin Dan, brother Mike, Brian, my Uncle Vern (my mom's brother) and my dad.
Jen and Liam going down the slide. Liam isn't a roller coaster fan like Carter. He takes after his daddy. We joked that Brian and Jen may have to go to Cedar Point together b/c they are more the thrill lovers unlike Tim and I! 
Carter showing me they unbuckled the 
