well i deCLAIRE, it's a girl!

sweet baby claire was born tonight around 10:30 pm to our dear friends, jonathan & tammy! what a blessing it was to greet this tiny precious baby just a little while after her birth. kristie & i had just visited a seriously-in-pain tammy around 8:30, and she had been at 4 cm for several hours. so it seemed like she had a long night ahead of her, and we were all praying that things would pick up for her. when we left around 9pm, we headed over to wal-mart to pick up a few things and to prolong our time together with no children (i know... wal-mart...sad....). only 30 minutes later, brian called and said in his most-urgent tone (which i rarely hear!), "where are you? jonathan called! she's at 9 cm and she's about to push!" OH WOW! that was one productive half hour for my friend!! i ran to get kristie out of the bathroom, and i shouted the news as i opened the door. i'm sure it was more information than the walmart cleaning lady wanted to hear, but i was excited! so we bolted out of walmart and got to the hospital just as jonathan's sister dabney was arriving w/ natalie & joseph. they were so excited to be meeting their baby sister soon! not too long after that, natalie was rushed back to wait outside her mom's room. as soon as claire was born, natalie got to watch her dad cut claire's umbilical cord. then joseph got his turn to see his baby sister... and we all waited for all the weighing and the wiping off while we chatted and drank our starbucks, courtesy of the proud papou!

and then it was our turn to meet baby claire! how tiny she was at 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19 inches long! she has a little hair and the prettiest, long fingers. she was so alert and content the whole time we were visiting in the room! i never heard her cry, but i was told that she's got quite the lungs on her... which she will need as a third child! tammy was feeling pretty good and looked great, of course. you wouldn't know that she'd just delivered a baby, but the infamous green hospital gown kind of gives it away. :)

i joked that tammy should have waited 45 more minutes, and claire could've been born at 11:11 on 11/11... tammy didn't think that was too funny. but as jonathan's dad pointed out in the waiting room, somebody can shoot for having a baby on 11/11/11 in 4 years!

ok i'll shut up now and get on with the pictures. brian and i will take the kids up there tomorrow to meet "baby care", as ethan already calls her. so hopefully i will be able to share more pictures soon.

thank you, Lord, for a safe delivery and healthy baby claire. we praise You for she is fearfully and wonderfully made.

natalie & joseph trying to get a peek at their baby sister

joseph was pretty quiet after he saw baby claire...
i think he realized he's not the baby anymore!

here is baby claire!
isn't she sweet? she looks so much like her brother & sister!

mom, dad, & baby

she was starting to get hungry, but she never cried...
she just sucked on those fingers!

i LOVE the expression on her face in this one! :)

it was so sweet to hold a newborn again...
wait till you meet your friends tomorrow, baby claire!

another priceless expression! such a cutie!

i love this picture...

one more close-up...get used to the flash, kiddo!

proud nuna
(and my kids' aunt kristie)

proud auntie rhema

proud grandpa!

proud yia yia & papou with their first daughter and sixth granddaughter!

congratulations, jonathan & tammy. we are so blessed to call you friends and to be like family. another celebration to share...so many more memories to come with these kids growing up together. we are truly blessed.