Our New Addition

I'm at a loss for words, as how does one even start writing about such a huge, wonderful, scary, and amazing change in life?

Helena Ann joined our family on Monday night at 11:55 p.m. - just had to be a January birthday! Her weight was 6 lb. 7 oz. and her length was 20.25 inches. She just seems so teeny tiny!


Surprisingly, during labor, I wasn't even thinking about the babe being a girl or a boy. Little Critter was just my baby. So when the doctor announced "It's a girl!", I thought "Oh yeah, forgot about that aspect of our child."


Her first name - Helena, accent on the second syllable - comes from her great grandma Helen, John's grandmother. She is a wonderful lady, and we're so proud to give that namesake to our daughter. Ann, her middle name, is my middle name, was my mom's middle name, and was my recently passed grandfather's sister's name. Another namesake I'm glad to pass on.

Three Generations of Anns

We were in the hospital until 5 p.m. on Wednesday. She was all dressed in her "going home" outfit and tucked away in her car seat when the nurse checked and said, "No, not tight enough." But the car seat wouldn't go any tighter! So, Helena actually had two "going home" outfits - one on top of the other - because we needed to give her some bulk.

We Three Plus a Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino (My Long Desired Treat!)

We've now been home for three days and are having a splendid time being a family. My dad has joined us, and we're all having fun watching her stretch, hearing her cry, and seeing her many faces. Oh, and yes, there have already been tears (mine, of course) over not wanting Helena to grow up.