Welcome home, Nathan!

On Monday, November 17th, we got ready to go home! We both got some extra "cuddle time" in with Nathan at the hospital before we'd have to divide our time three ways :).

The nurse asked if a midwife-in-training (along with a midwife) could complete Nathan's exam before heading home. Maybe she was just buttering us up, but she said that they wanted the midwife-in-training to practice on a good baby and that Nathan was one of the sweetest babies at the hospital. :) It was interesting to observe the "training session." Nathan cooperated nicely and he passed all of his "tests" with flying colors.

Before we left, a pretty balloon-and-flower arrangement from Grandpa and Grandma Schleicher arrived. What a kind gesture! We think Nathan really liked it!

At just 34 hours old, we strapped Nathan into his carseat,

said goodbye to our hospital room, and started the drive home.

Meanwhile, back at home, Nathan's older brothers (under the loving guidance of Grammy and Papa) were planning a wonderful welcome. They worked hard coloring, glittering, and dot-painting a "Welcome Home, Nathan" sign.

It turned out beautifully. When they heard we were on our way home, they all even braved the (Texas-) cold weather to wait for us outside.

We felt so welcomed when we pulled into the driveway.

Nathan immediately received lots of attention and love.

We paused for a picture by the beautiful banner before heading inside.

Each boy insisted on holding Nathan RIGHT AWAY!

When Nathan started getting a little fussy, Matt asked if the boys wanted to help him change Nathan's diaper. He had two willing and eager volunteers. They supervised from the safety of the exercise bike while Daddy did the dirty work. :)

Daddy then mentioned that Nathan might be hungry. Ryan said, "I'll be right back!"

He eagerly handed Daddy his own sippy cup of milk from the fridge to share with Nathan. Ha ha!

Ryan wasn't too disappointed that Nathan couldn't drink the milk he brought ... as long as he could still be within an arm's reach of Nathan. So, we all cuddled on the couch together while Kim nursed Nathan.

Then we had a group burping session. :)

While the boys cuddled with Daddy,

Nathan got some one-on-one cuddling time with Grammy ...

... and Papa!

Right before bed, the big brothers wanted to hold Nathan one more time!

We were thrilled, thankful, and relieved that the older boys' initial reaction to having a baby at home was so positive! They certainly love their little brother!