Rebekah Grace

It's hard to believe that a week ago, we met our precious daughter. Although I had felt her kicking and moving around inside me for several months, and we had even been able to get a glimpse of her through a few ultrasounds...we still didn't really know her...or even know whether she was a boy or a girl. The vast majority thought we were having a boy. The fact that no girls had been born in Nathan's family in 20 years may have had something to do with that assumption. With so many thinking our baby was a boy and with dreaming several times that we were having a boy, I often said (especially toward the end of my pregnancy) that for those very reasons, I would not be all that surprised if we had a baby girl. And sure enough, not only did we get the surprise of finding out our baby's gender...so did everyone else. :)

Rebekah's due date was May 8th, but she chose to move up her birthday to May 3rd. We definitely didn't mind! In fact, it turned out to be the same day 2 of my friends also had their babies. Plus, it was the birthday of my best friend from elementary school. Bekah chose to wait until May, which was when the new maternity section of the hospital opened...and she chose to end my pregnancy discomfort early. And for both, I'm so thankful to her. She was born at 3:30 PM, weighed 7 lbs 2 oz, and was 21 inches long.

This first week has gone fairly well. We've just had a couple challenges: jaundice and feedings...which were somewhat related. Both have been resolved, and she has been doing wonderfully well. Nathan and I have found ourselves captivated by this precious gift from the Lord. Even when she's just sleeping, we can't help but to look at her and be amazed by her. We love watching her facial expressions. When my mom said that she thought Bekah looks like Nathan, Bekah got a big grin on her face. Priceless. And I absolutely LOVE watching Bekah and Nathan together. Those daddy-daughter bonding times are so precious. Needless to say, we are so thankful that God has chosen and allowed us to be her parents.

Now for some pictures (all taken the day after she was born)...