Ethan is HERE!!

Hooray!! Ethan Ryan came into the world at 8:12a.m. on Tuesday, May 12th weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 21" in length. His Apgars were 9 and 9 and he is by all accounts completely healthy. We are now home with him and enjoying settling into life as a family of four.

Wow, that seems weird to even type that..."family of four." Aaaaahhhh....

I'm uploading all 300 pictures we've taken in the last two days so it may be a while before I post any! :)

I had a really great birth experience--almost the complete opposite of the last time--with a labor that started out at 7:00p.m. Monday night. The first "real" pain wasn't until almost 3:00a.m. (after I slept restlessly through minor "cramps" for several hours) when I woke my husband up to help me time them. I was in triage at the hospital by 6:00a.m....admitted and in a labor/delivery room by about 7:00a.m....started pushing at about 8:00a.m....and then there he was!! It was truly an amazing and blessed labor and birth, thank the Lord! I'll probably post a more detailed version on my pregnancy blog soon, for those who are interested (I'm usually one of those).

I am thrilled to no longer be pregnant and so happy with the experience we had. Plus, I have a beautiful baby boy to show for it! He is gorgeous and the first baby born into our family in a very long time that has a head full of light hair!! It is exciting to get to know him.

Andrew loves being a big brother and is quite happy that we all got to come home together. Seeing my three boys just fills my heart with joy!!

Now I hear him...gotta run! :)

PICTURES COMING SOON--YOU KNOW I'M GOOD FOR IT!!

P.S. I'll also be reporting on the results of the "baby pool" soon and let you know who got the best combination of gender/date/time/length, etc. It's pretty funny!