Introducing Rebecca

We are so excited to introduce the newest member of our family! We are sorry we are so slow at getting this posted--we've been a little busy!

This is Rebecca! She was born on July 24, 2009 at 7:47 A.M. at Davis Hospital in Layton, Utah. She was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. We are so thankful for this sweet little girl! Her siblings all absolutely adore her, to say nothing of her proud parents! She has beautiful dark hair and dark eyes that are just penetrating, and we are really enjoying getting to know her. We are so grateful for her and all the tender mercies in our lives.

It is always amazing to me how they just know Mom and Dad right from the start. Whenever I would pick her up in the hospital after she started to fuss, her cry would change to an almost happy whimper and her face would look almost smiley, like she was saying, "I know who this is and that she's going to give me what I need." Whenever Daddy would visit, she would get very quiet and just stare at him for the longest time. We got some real grins out of her the second week, and it is just so fun to see those little smiles that are just straight from the heart. (I know all the grandmas tell you newborn smiles are from gas, but who ever smiled when they had gas?!) She has smiled more and more every week, and she has even started giving grins to her siblings!

Here are some other photos of our little sweetheart and her adoring crowd:

Does Jeremy look a little confused? Actually, I think he was more confused by Mommy being gone from home for the first time in his life! He would hardly look at me or touch me in the hospital bed until a few days later! He is adjusting fairly well, but he has a hard time being gentle. He is absolutely fascinated by the baby, saying, "Baby!" all the time, and wanting to watch her and touch her. He has also discovered that if he is too rough, he gets a reaction, which is also fascinating to him, unfortunately! I've tried to find a balance so that he can still touch his sister and "talk" to her but not hurt her. Not easy with a child this age. I'm so glad that he likes her, though!

Christina is so excited! (And shaggy!) She has such a motherly personality, and she loves being able to do anything for Rebecca. Christina makes frequent visits to Rebecca no matter where she is in the house. She has also been such a big help!


Proud oldest sister, Ashley! Ashley can now be trusted to hold and entertain the baby, and she loves carrying her around the house like a little mother. She loves to coo at Rebecca constantly!
Ashley and Christina have had a daily "buddy" to help--Jeremy or Emily--and Ashley has become really good at doing Emily's hair, something she has enjoyed.

Christopher loves his new sister. . .

and so does Emily!
Emily is constantly giving the baby hugs and kisses and loves to get down by her and talk to her!
Christopher loves to talk to and sing to her and can't wait until he can play with her a little more! He keeps dumping toys in her cradle and saying in a high voice, "Look at this! Look at this!" I had to remind him that she will be able to play soon, just not yet.

I love this picture of Justin and the kids--I think it captures in part what a great dad Justin is!


Justin and I celebrated our twelfth anniversary on July 26th at the hospital! At least it was a happy occasion. . .
Justin always has to remind me how much he loves having his picture taken. . .

Our "candlelight meal", courtesy the hospital. The food's actually pretty good at Davis! When I first started having babies there, it was atrocious. The only decent meal there was breakfast, and even that wasn't so great. I think they got a lot of complaints because they hired a fancy chef and the food is SO much better! So our meal was actually like going out to a nice restaurant. I highly recommend the cheesecake (not that I want anyone to end up in the hospital, but if you happen to be there. . .).

One of the pediatric nurses got Rebecca's hair to go all curly with some gel--I took so many pictures trying to capture the effect, I think Rebecca was beginning to wonder if I'd ever stop (as this next photo illustrates). . .

Getting ready to go home on July 27th! Every baby we've ever had has screamed as soon as it's time to go home, no matter if they've been fed, changed, and are happily asleep just before. Maybe it's the clothes. Anyway, it's kind of funny!

Rebecca's home! The whole family together. Aunt Kristin so kindly took this photo for us. She was at our house busily planting a flower garden in honor of Rebecca's arrival--and all after she'd stayed up super late multiple nights in a row at their company, Climbing Holds. (And this was supposed to be a vacation, as she was visiting from Dallas!) What a woman!

Home in my own bed!