Growing Family

A new member of our family arrived yesterday at 6:29AM. My sister, Casey, gave birth to an absolutely perfect baby boy named Ronan. Personally, I couldn't be more in love...except for with Ruby of course ;) He is just the sweetest little ball of wrinkles I've ever seen and I can't get enough of him!

My sister had an incredibly difficult labor, but because I'm not sure what she wants me to say, I'll keep it brief. I will say that she was amazing. She was so strong and brave, and throughout the entire time her thoughts were focused on bringing her little baby into the world in the safest possible way. Her husband was also extremely focused and calm. I'm sure his presence was invaluable to her. Her baby ended up being delivered by Cesarean but they are both doing very well, all things considered.

This little man means so much to my family for so many reasons. After the last year we've had, and our, to put it VERY mildly, rough newborn experience with Ruby, it's so wonderful to have a baby that has no real problems! We all keep saying things like, "He's so pink!" or "I can't believe how easy it is to move him and change him! He's not attached to ANYTHING!" It's also such a nice thing to see our family growing again with new life. After my grandparent's died (3 within a few years of each other) it seemed like our family was ending. But now that there is all this life it just...well it feels so invigorating to have children around again. They really do make each moment a special one.

I would also like to tell you a little bit about Ruby meeting her cousin. At first she didn't seem too interested in him, and maybe a tiny bit jealous when I would hold him. But after he woke up she was fascinated. And the sweetest moment of their meeting was when a nurse came in to do an assessment on him. She said hello to Ruby and who responded with her "stink-eye." The nurse said as much and I replied, "She's not a fan of nurses." When the nurse started assessing Ronan he began to cry. Ruby became extremely concerned. She kept pointing to her cousin and when I brought her close to him she had to keep petting his little feet, all the while continuing her death-stare at the nurse. She then started pointing to him and patting her chest, to sign "me." This is her way of telling us she wants something or thinks something is hers. Then when he was given back to his mama but was still crying, Ruby tried giving him the toy she was holding. The rest of the night when he would cry she wanted to pet him and if we didn't let her she would rub our shoulders in the gentle way we told her to touch him. It was a really moving thing and I couldn't be more proud of her. They are going to be really close, I just know it :)

I'm going to ask my sister if she minds if I post a few pics of Ronan but if you're friends with me on FB then you can already see some there.