Isn't she beautiful?!

(This is what happens when you are forced to spend all day with Kate.)
Here are some photos of Lilly's new cousin, Kaden...

Congratulations, Brandy & Isaac!

Brandy & me over Christmas (at my baby shower)

My cousin Brandy gave birth to a bouncing baby boy this afternoon! We welcome Kaden Quinn to the world! (Can you believe Brandy was only 3 weeks behind me and I was so HUGE?!) I am so happy for you guys! I can't wait to meet Kaden!

Brandy at 7 months along

Lilly News...

Well, Lilly is 15 days old now, and she is already changing so much! Since I last posted, she has been dedicated (on Easter Sunday), she lost her umbilical stump, and had her 1st real bath. She is a wonderful baby, only getting up once during the night (most nights). Matt and I are amazed at how much God has blessed us!

Lilly's Dedication

Lilly & Uncle Sam

Thanks, Grandma, for all your help!

Thanks, Grandpa, for letting us borrow Grandma!

My Lilly-Burrito

Happy Birthday, Lilly!

Matt and I are proud to introduce you to our new daughter, Lilly Blessing! She was born on Palm Sunday, April 9, 2006 at 12:43 in the afternoon. She weighed 7 pounds, 7.9 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of dark brown hair, and is absolutely beautiful!
We got to bring her home yesterday (Tuesday) and are in the process of settling in to our new life. She is a little jaundiced, so she will be on photolight therapy for a few days. Basically, she is wrapped in a blanket of fluorescent light all the time, except when we change and bathe her. She looks like a little glo-worm! This will go on for 1 to 3 more days, until the jaundice is gone. It's a little inconvenient, since we would love to take her places and walk around with her, but we can't because the blanket has to be plugged in at all times. Regardless, we are happy to have her home!

I am so thankful to our Father God for this little miracle. She is so beautiful and perfect. I would have never imagined how great she is. God is so good. Matt is a natural with her. If nobody can get her to settle down, Matt can! He is so in love with her, and I love to watch them together.

We will be dedicating her to the Lord this Sunday (Easter!) at church, and can't wait to dress her up in her ridiculously large Easter dress to show her off to the congregation! I'm sure we'll post some pictures next week of her dedication.

Lilly's Almost Here!

Well, it looks like tomorrow's the big day! I will go in to the hospital tomorrow evening and they will prep me for induction, and Sunday morning they will induce my labor. If all goes well, by Sunday evening, we will have a new little girl! Thankfully, we are as ready as we're gonna be. The nursery's done, our bags are packed and the car seat's in the car. I have some last-minute things to take care of for Soul Pardon's trip to Toronto next week (I was hoping to see them off, but it looks like I may still be in the hospital when they leave), but other than that, I can't think of anything we have left to do.

At my doctor's appointment yesterday, the doctor said the baby looks great, but I am only 1 cm. dilated and about 50% effaced. Nothing to get excited about. So, unless I go into labor beore 5 p.m. tomorrow, we're going ahead with the induction. If you aren't aware, we are inducing due to my gestational diabetes and insulin regimen. They like to have the baby delivered at 39 weeks in these cases to avoid any major complications (high birth weight, large baby, and other concerns). We are happy that I will avoid a c-section (unless it is medically necessary).

I got to see Lilly again via ultrasound, and she still has a LOT of hair!

If you use your imagination, you can see the hair on top of her head. She even waved at us! (The other image is her hand.)

So, it looks like the next time you hear from me will be after Lilly is born! Hopefully we'll be home Tuesday or Wednesday and I'm sure I'll post some photos shortly thereafter! Talk to you then!

Here is Lilly's room...now you can see it Brandy!

Happy Jessie Day!

Today is (probably) the 10th annual "Jessie Day!" On this date, many moons ago, Kate and Jessie got together to celebrate the fabulous person that is Jessica Marie (Vance) Murphy. In honor of her spendor, we enjoyed a marathon movie-fest consisting of the entire (original--forget that "Continuing Story" junk) Anne of Green Gables miniseries--all 6 hours, followed by 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation movies--yes, another 6 hours. From that date forth, April 1 has always been Jessie Day to us. If you know Jessie, send her your love today. And if you don't, you're missing out!